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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/2713-0.txt b/2713-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f23b3fa --- /dev/null +++ b/2713-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3700 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Maiwa’s Revenge, by H. Rider Haggard + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: Maiwa’s Revenge + The War of the Little Hand + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: July, 2001 [eBook #2713] +[Most recently updated: April 8, 2021] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: John Bickers, Dagny, Emma Dudding and David Widger + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAIWA’S REVENGE *** + + + + +Maiwa’s Revenge + +or The War of the Little Hand + +by H. Rider Haggard + + +Contents + + PREFACE + CHAPTER I. GOBO STRIKES + CHAPTER II. A MORNING’S SPORT + CHAPTER III. THE FIRST ROUND + CHAPTER IV. THE LAST ROUND + CHAPTER V. THE MESSAGE OF MAIWA + CHAPTER VI. THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN + CHAPTER VII. THE ATTACK + CHAPTER VIII. MAIWA IS AVENGED + + + + +PREFACE + + +It may be well to state that the incident of the “Thing that bites” +recorded in this tale is not an effort of the imagination. On the +contrary, it is “plagiarized.” Mandara, a well-known chief on the east +coast of Africa, has such an article, _and uses it_. In the same way +the wicked conduct attributed to Wambe is not without a precedent. +T’Chaka, the Zulu Napoleon, never allowed a child of his to live. +Indeed he went further, for on discovering that his mother, Unandi, was +bringing up one of his sons in secret, like Nero he killed her, and +with his own hand. + + + + +MAIWA’S REVENGE + + + + +CHAPTER I. +GOBO STRIKES + + +One day—it was about a week after Allan Quatermain told me his story of +the “Three Lions,” and of the moving death of Jim-Jim—he and I were +walking home together on the termination of a day’s shooting. He owned +about two thousand acres of shooting round the place he had bought in +Yorkshire, over a hundred of which were wood. It was the second year of +his occupation of the estate, and already he had reared a very fair +head of pheasants, for he was an all-round sportsman, and as fond of +shooting with a shot-gun as with an eight-bore rifle. We were three +guns that day, Sir Henry Curtis, Old Quatermain, and myself; but Sir +Henry was obliged to leave in the middle of the afternoon in order to +meet his agent, and inspect an outlying farm where a new shed was +wanted. However, he was coming back to dinner, and going to bring +Captain Good with him, for Brayley Hall was not more than two miles +from the Grange. + +We had met with very fair sport, considering that we were only going +through outlying cover for cocks. I think that we had killed +twenty-seven, a woodcock and a leash of partridges which we secured out +of a driven covey. On our way home there lay a long narrow spinney, +which was a very favourite “lie” for woodcocks, and generally held a +pheasant or two as well. + +“Well, what do you say?” said old Quatermain, “shall we beat through +this for a finish?” + +I assented, and he called to the keeper who was following with a little +knot of beaters, and told him to beat the spinney. + +“Very well, sir,” answered the man, “but it’s getting wonderful dark, +and the wind’s rising a gale. It will take you all your time to hit a +woodcock if the spinney holds one.” + +“You show us the woodcocks, Jeffries,” answered Quatermain quickly, for +he never liked being crossed in anything to do with sport, “and we will +look after shooting them.” + +The man turned and went rather sulkily. I heard him say to the +under-keeper, “He’s pretty good, the master is, I’m not saying he +isn’t, but if he kills a woodcock in this light and wind, I’m a +Dutchman.” + +I think that Quatermain heard him too, though he said nothing. The wind +was rising every minute, and by the time the beat begun it blew big +guns. I stood at the right-hand corner of the spinney, which curved +round somewhat, and Quatermain stood at the left, about forty paces +from me. Presently an old cock pheasant came rocketing over me, looking +as though the feathers were being blown out of his tail. I missed him +clean with the first barrel, and was never more pleased with myself in +my life than when I doubled him up with the second, for the shot was +not an easy one. In the faint light I could see Quatermain nodding his +head in approval, when through the groaning of the trees I heard the +shouts of the beaters, “Cock forward, cock to the right.” Then came a +whole volley of shouts, “Woodcock to the right,” “Cock to the left,” +“Cock over.” + +I looked up, and presently caught sight of one of the woodcocks coming +down the wind upon me like a flash. In that dim light I could not +follow all his movements as he zigzagged through the naked tree-tops; +indeed I could see him when his wings flitted up. Now he was passing +me—_bang_, and a flick of the wing, I had missed him; _bang_ again. +Surely he was down; no, there he went to my left. + +“Cock to you,” I shouted, stepping forward so as to get Quatermain +between me and the faint angry light of the dying day, for I wanted to +see if he would “wipe my eye.” I knew him to be a wonderful shot, but I +thought that cock would puzzle him. + +I saw him raise his gun ever so little and bend forward, and at that +moment out flashed two woodcocks into the open, the one I had missed to +his right, and the other to his left. + +At the same time a fresh shout arose of, “Woodcock over,” and looking +down the spinney I saw a third bird high up in the air, being blown +along like a brown and whirling leaf straight over Quatermain’s head. +And then followed the prettiest little bit of shooting that I ever saw. +The bird to the right was flying low, not ten yards from the line of a +hedgerow, and Quatermain took him first because he would become +invisible the soonest of any. Indeed, nobody who had not his hawk’s +eyes could have seen to shoot at all. But he saw the bird well enough +to kill it dead as a stone. Then turning sharply, he pulled on the +second bird at about forty-five yards, and over he went. By this time +the third woodcock was nearly over him, and flying very high, straight +down the wind, a hundred feet up or more, I should say. I saw him +glance at it as he opened his gun, threw out the right cartridge and +slipped in another, turning round as he did so. By this time the cock +was nearly fifty yards away from him, and travelling like a flash. +Lifting his gun he fired after it, and, wonderful as the shot was, +killed it dead. A tearing gust of wind caught the dead bird, and blew +it away like a leaf torn from an oak, so that it fell a hundred and +thirty yards off or more. + +“I say, Quatermain,” I said to him when the beaters were up, “do you +often do this sort of thing?” + +“Well,” he answered, with a dry smile, “the last time I had to load +three shots as quickly as that was at rather larger game. It was at +elephants. I killed them all three as dead as I killed those woodcocks; +but it very nearly went the other way, I can tell you; I mean that they +very nearly killed me.” + +Just at that moment the keeper came up, “Did you happen to get one of +them there cocks, sir?” he said, with the air of a man who did not in +the least expect an answer in the affirmative. + +“Well, yes, Jeffries,” answered Quatermain; “you will find one of them +by the hedge, and another about fifty yards out by the plough there to +the left——” + +The keeper had turned to go, looking a little astonished, when +Quatermain called him back. + +“Stop a bit, Jeffries,” he said. “You see that pollard about one +hundred and forty yards off? Well, there should be another woodcock +down in a line with it, about sixty paces out in the field.” + +“Well, if that bean’t the very smartest bit of shooting,” murmured +Jeffries, and departed. + +After that we went home, and in due course Sir Henry Curtis and Captain +Good arrived for dinner, the latter arrayed in the tightest and most +ornamental dress-suit I ever saw. I remember that the waistcoat was +adorned with five pink coral buttons. + +It was a very pleasant dinner. Old Quatermain was in an excellent +humour; induced, I think, by the recollection of his triumph over the +doubting Jeffries. Good, too, was full of anecdotes. He told us a most +miraculous story of how he once went shooting ibex in Kashmir. These +ibex, according to Good, he stalked early and late for four entire +days. At last on the morning of the fifth day he succeeded in getting +within range of the flock, which consisted of a magnificent old ram +with horns so long that I am afraid to mention their measure, and five +or six females. Good crawled upon his stomach, painfully taking shelter +behind rocks, till he was within two hundred yards; then he drew a fine +bead upon the old ram. At this moment, however, a diversion occurred. +Some wandering native of the hills appeared upon a distant mountain +top. The females turned, and rushing over a rock vanished from Good’s +ken. But the old ram took a bolder course. In front of him stretched a +mighty crevasse at least thirty feet in width. He went at it with a +bound. Whilst he was in mid-air Good fired, and killed him dead. The +ram turned a complete somersault in space, and fell in such fashion +that his horns hooked themselves upon a big projection of the opposite +cliffs. There he hung, till Good, after a long and painful détour, +gracefully dropped a lasso over him and fished him up. + +This moving tale of wild adventure was received with undeserved +incredulity. + +“Well,” said Good, “if you fellows won’t believe my story when I tell +it—a perfectly true story mind—perhaps one of you will give us a +better; I’m not particular if it is true or not.” And he lapsed into a +dignified silence. + +“Now, Quatermain,” I said, “don’t let Good beat you, let us hear how +you killed those elephants you were talking about this evening just +after you shot the woodcocks.” + +“Well,” said Quatermain, dryly, and with something like a twinkle in +his brown eyes, “it is very hard fortune for a man to have to follow on +Good’s ‘spoor.’ Indeed if it were not for that running giraffe which, +as you will remember, Curtis, we saw Good bowl over with a Martini +rifle at three hundred yards, I should almost have said that this was +an impossible tale.” + +Here Good looked up with an air of indignant innocence. + +“However,” he went on, rising and lighting his pipe, “if you fellows +like, I will spin you a yarn. I was telling one of you the other night +about those three lions and how the lioness finished my unfortunate +‘voorlooper,’ Jim-Jim, the boy whom we buried in the bread-bag. + +“Well, after this little experience I thought that I would settle down +a bit, so I entered upon a venture with a man who, being of a +speculative mind, had conceived the idea of running a store at Pretoria +upon strictly cash principles. The arrangement was that I should find +the capital and he the experience. Our partnership was not of a long +duration. The Boers refused to pay cash, and at the end of four months +my partner had the capital and I had the experience. After this I came +to the conclusion that store-keeping was not in my line, and having +four hundred pounds left, I sent my boy Harry to a school in Natal, and +buying an outfit with what remained of the money, started upon a big +trip. + +“This time I determined to go further afield than I had ever been +before; so I took a passage for a few pounds in a trading brig that ran +between Durban and Delagoa Bay. From Delagoa Bay I marched inland +accompanied by twenty porters, with the idea of striking up north, +towards the Limpopo, and keeping parallel to the coast, but at a +distance of about one hundred and fifty miles from it. For the first +twenty days of our journey we suffered a good deal from fever, that is, +my men did, for I think that I am fever proof. Also I was hard put to +it to keep the camp in meat, for although the country proved to be very +sparsely populated, there was but little game about. Indeed, during all +that time I hardly killed anything larger than a waterbuck, and, as you +know, waterbuck’s flesh is not very appetising food. On the twentieth +day, however, we came to the banks of a largish river, the Gonooroo it +was called. This I crossed, and then struck inland towards a great +range of mountains, the blue crests of which we could see lying on the +distant heavens like a shadow, a continuation, as I believe, of the +Drakensberg range that skirts the coast of Natal. From this main range +a great spur shoots out some fifty miles or so towards the coast, +ending abruptly in one tremendous peak. This spur I discovered +separated the territories of two chiefs named Nala and Wambe, Wambe’s +territory being to the north, and Nala’s to the south. Nala ruled a +tribe of bastard Zulus called the Butiana, and Wambe a much larger +tribe, called the Matuku, which presents marked Bantu characteristics. +For instance, they have doors and verandahs to their huts, work skins +perfectly, and wear a waistcloth and not a moocha. At this time the +Butiana were more or less subject to the Matuku, having been surprised +by them some twenty years before and mercilessly slaughtered down. The +tribe was now recovering itself, however, and as you may imagine, it +did not love the Matuku. + +“Well, I heard as I went along that elephants were very plentiful in +the dense forests which lie upon the slopes and at the foot of the +mountains that border Wambe’s territory. Also I heard a very ill report +of that worthy himself, who lived in a kraal upon the side of the +mountain, which was so strongly fortified as to be practically +impregnable. It was said that he was the most cruel chief in this part +of Africa, and that he had murdered in cold blood an entire party of +English gentlemen, who, some seven years before, had gone into his +country to hunt elephants. They took an old friend of mine with them as +guide, John Every by name, and often had I mourned over his untimely +death. All the same, Wambe or no Wambe, I determined to hunt elephants +in his country. I never was afraid of natives, and I was not going to +show the white feather now. I am a bit of a fatalist, as you fellows +know, so I came to the conclusion that if it was fated that Wambe +should send me to join my old friend John Every, I should have to go, +and there was an end of it. Meanwhile, I meant to hunt elephants with a +peaceful heart. + +“On the third day from the date of our sighting the great peak, we +found ourselves beneath its shadow. Still following the course of the +river which wound through the forests at the base of the peak, we +entered the territory of the redoubtable Wambe. This, however, was not +accomplished without a certain difference of opinion between my bearers +and myself, for when we reached the spot where Wambe’s boundary was +supposed to run, the bearers sat down and emphatically refused to go a +step further. I sat down too, and argued with them, putting my +fatalistic views before them as well as I was able. But I could not +persuade them to look at the matter in the same light. ‘At present,’ +they said, ‘their skins were whole; if they went into Wambe’s country +without his leave they would soon be like a water-eaten leaf. It was +very well for me to say that this would be Fate. Fate no doubt might be +walking about in Wambe’s country, but while they stopped outside they +would not meet him.’ + +“‘Well,’ I said to Gobo, my head man, ‘and what do you mean to do?’ + +“‘We mean to go back to the coast, Macumazahn,’ he answered insolently. + +“‘Do you?’ I replied, for my bile was stirred. ‘At any rate, Mr. Gobo, +you and one or two others will never get there; see here, my friend,’ +and I took a repeating rifle and sat myself comfortably down, resting +my back against a tree—‘I have just breakfasted, and I had as soon +spend the day here as anywhere else. Now if you or any of those men +walk one step back from here, and towards the coast, I shall fire at +you; and you know that I don’t miss.’ + +“The man fingered the spear he was carrying—luckily all my guns were +stacked against the tree—and then turned as though to walk away, the +others keeping their eyes fixed upon him all the while. I rose and +covered him with the rifle, and though he kept up a brave appearance of +unconcern, I saw that he was glancing nervously at me all the time. +When he had gone about twenty yards I spoke very quietly— + +“‘Now, Gobo,’ I said, ‘come back, or I shall fire.’ + +“Of course this was taking a very high hand; I had no real right to +kill Gobo or anybody else because they objected to run the risk of +death by entering the territory of a hostile chief. But I felt that if +I wished to keep up any authority it was absolutely necessary that I +should push matters to the last extremity short of actually shooting +him. So I sat there, looking fierce as a lion, and keeping the sight of +my rifle in a dead line for Gobo’s ribs. Then Gobo, feeling that the +situation was getting strained, gave in. + +“‘Don’t shoot, Boss,’ he shouted, throwing up his hand, ‘I will come +with you.’ + +“‘I thought you would,’ I answered quietly; ‘you see Fate walks about +outside Wambe’s country as well as in it.’ + +“After that I had no more trouble, for Gobo was the ringleader, and +when he collapsed the others collapsed also. Harmony being thus +restored, we crossed the line, and on the following morning I began +shooting in good earnest.” + + + + +CHAPTER II. +A MORNING’S SPORT + + +“Moving some five or six miles round the base of the great peak of +which I have spoken, we came the same day to one of the fairest bits of +African country that I have seen outside of Kukuanaland. At this spot +the mountain spur that runs out at right angles to the great range, +which stretches its cloud-clad length north and south as far as the eye +can reach, sweeps inwards with a vast and splendid curve. This curve +measures some five-and-thirty miles from point to point, and across its +moon-like segment the river flashed, a silver line of light. On the +further side of the river is a measureless sea of swelling ground, a +natural park covered with great patches of bush—some of them being many +square miles in extent. These are separated one from another by glades +of grass land, broken here and there with clumps of timber trees; and +in some instances by curious isolated koppies, and even by single crags +of granite that start up into the air as though they were monuments +carved by man, and not tombstones set by nature over the grave of ages +gone. On the west this beautiful plain is bordered by the lonely +mountain, from the edge of which it rolls down toward the fever coast; +but how far it runs to the north I cannot say—eight days’ journey, +according to the natives, when it is lost in an untravelled morass. + +“On the hither side of the river the scenery is different. Along the +edge of its banks, where the land is flat, are green patches of swamp. +Then comes a wide belt of beautiful grass land covered thickly with +game, and sloping up very gently to the borders of the forest, which, +beginning at about a thousand feet above the level of the plain, +clothes the mountain-side almost to its crest. In this forest grow +great trees, most of them of the yellow-wood species. Some of these +trees are so lofty, that a bird in their top branches would be out of +range of an ordinary shot gun. Another peculiar thing about them is, +that they are for the most part covered with a dense growth of the +Orchilla moss; and from this moss the natives manufacture a most +excellent deep purple dye, with which they stain tanned hides and also +cloth, when they happen to get any of the latter. I do not think that I +ever saw anything more remarkable than the appearance of one of these +mighty trees festooned from top to bottom with trailing wreaths of this +sad-hued moss, in which the wind whispers gently as it stirs them. At a +distance it looks like the gray locks of a Titan crowned with bright +green leaves, and here and there starred with the rich bloom of +orchids. + +“The night of that day on which I had my little difference of opinion +with Gobo, we camped by the edge of this great forest, and on the +following morning at daylight I started out shooting. As we were short +of meat I determined to kill a buffalo, of which there were plenty +about, before looking for traces of elephants. Not more than half a +mile from camp we came across a trail broad as a cart-road, evidently +made by a great herd of buffaloes which had passed up at dawn from +their feeding ground in the marshes, to spend the day in the cool air +of the uplands. This trail I followed boldly; for such wind as there +was blew straight down the mountain-side, that is, from the direction +in which the buffaloes had gone, to me. About a mile further on the +forest began to be dense, and the nature of the trail showed me that I +must be close to my game. Another two hundred yards and the bush was so +thick that, had it not been for the trail, we could scarcely have +passed through it. As it was, Gobo, who carried my eight-bore rifle +(for I had the .570-express in my hand), and the other two men whom I +had taken with me, showed the very strongest dislike to going any +further, pointing out that there was ‘no room to run away.’ I told them +that they need not come unless they liked, but that I was certainly +going on; and then, growing ashamed, they came. + +“Another fifty yards, and the trail opened into a little glade. I knelt +down and peeped and peered, but no buffalo could I see. Evidently the +herd had broken up here—I knew that from the spoor—and penetrated the +opposite bush in little troops. I crossed the glade, and choosing one +line of spoor, followed it for some sixty yards, when it became clear +to me that I was surrounded by buffaloes; and yet so dense was the +cover that I could not see any. A few yards to my left I could hear one +rubbing its horns against a tree, while from my right came an +occasional low and throaty grunt which told me that I was uncomfortably +near an old bull. I crept on towards him with my heart in my mouth, as +gently as though I were walking upon eggs for a bet, lifting every +little bit of wood in my path, and placing it behind me lest it should +crack and warn the game. After me in single file came my three +retainers, and I don’t know which of them looked the most frightened. +Presently Gobo touched my leg; I glanced round, and saw him pointing +slantwise towards the left. I lifted my head a little and peeped over a +mass of creepers; beyond the creepers was a dense bush of sharp-pointed +aloes, of that kind of which the leaves project laterally, and on the +other side of the aloes, not fifteen paces from us, I made out the +horns, neck, and the ridge of the back of a tremendous old bull. I took +my eight-bore, and getting on to my knee prepared to shoot him through +the neck, taking my chance of cutting his spine. I had already covered +him as well as the aloe leaves would allow, when he gave a kind of sigh +and lay down. + +“I looked round in dismay. What was to be done now? I could not see to +shoot him lying down, even if my bullet would have pierced the +intervening aloes—which was doubtful—and if I stood up he would either +run away or charge me. I reflected, and came to the conclusion that the +only thing to do was to lie down also; for I did not fancy wandering +after other buffaloes in that dense bush. If a buffalo lies down, it is +clear that he must get up again some time, so it was only a case of +patience—‘fighting the fight of sit down,’ as the Zulus say. + +“Accordingly I sat down and lighted a pipe, thinking that the smell of +it might reach the buffalo and make him get up. But the wind was the +wrong way, and it did not; so when it was done I lit another. +Afterwards I had cause to regret that pipe. + +“Well, we squatted like this for between half and three quarters of an +hour, till at length I began to grow heartily sick of the performance. +It was about as dull a business as the last hour of a comic opera. I +could hear buffaloes snorting and moving all round, and see the +red-beaked tic birds flying up off their backs, making a kind of hiss +as they did so, something like that of the English missel-thrush, but I +could not see a single buffalo. As for my old bull, I think he must +have slept the sleep of the just, for he never even stirred. + +“Just as I was making up my mind that something must be done to save +the situation, my attention was attracted by a curious grinding noise. +At first I thought that it must be a buffalo chewing the cud, but was +obliged to abandon the idea because the noise was too loud. I shifted +myself round and stared through the cracks in the bush, in the +direction whence the sound seemed to come, and once I thought that I +saw something gray moving about fifty yards off, but could not make +certain. Although the grinding noise still continued I could see +nothing more, so I gave up thinking about it, and once again turned my +attention to the buffalo. Presently, however, something happened. +Suddenly from about forty yards away there came a tremendous snorting +sound, more like that made by an engine getting a heavy train under +weigh than anything else in the world. + +“‘By Jove,’ I thought, turning round in the direction from which the +grinding sound had come, ‘that must be a rhinoceros, and he has got our +wind.’ For, as you fellows know, there is no mistaking the sound made +by a rhinoceros when he gets wind of you. + +“Another second, and I heard a most tremendous crashing noise. Before I +could think what to do, before I could even get up, the bush behind me +seemed to burst asunder, and there appeared not eight yards from us, +the great horn and wicked twinkling eye of a charging rhinoceros. He +had winded us or my pipe, I do not know which, and, after the fashion +of these brutes, had charged up the scent. I could not rise, I could +not even get the gun up, I had no time. All that I was able to do was +to roll over as far out of the monster’s path as the bush would allow. +Another second and he was over me, his great bulk towering above me +like a mountain, and, upon my word, I could not get his smell out of my +nostrils for a week. Circumstances impressed it on my memory, at least +I suppose so. His hot breath blew upon my face, one of his front feet +just missed my head, and his hind one actually trod upon the loose part +of my trousers and pinched a little bit of my skin. I saw him pass over +me lying as I was upon my back, and next second I saw something else. +My men were a little behind me, and therefore straight in the path of +the rhinoceros. One of them flung himself backwards into the bush, and +thus avoided him. The second with a wild yell sprung to his feet, and +bounded like an india-rubber ball right into the aloe bush, landing +well among the spikes. But the third, it was my friend Gobo, could not +by any means get away. He managed to gain his feet, and that was all. +The rhinoceros was charging with his head low; his horn passed between +Gobo’s legs, and feeling something on his nose, he jerked it up. Away +went Gobo, high into the air. He turned a complete somersault at the +apex of the curve, and as he did so, I caught sight of his face. It was +gray with terror, and his mouth was wide open. Down he came, right on +to the great brute’s back, and that broke his fall. Luckily for him the +rhinoceros never turned, but crashed straight through the aloe bush, +only missing the man who had jumped into it by about a yard. + +“Then followed a complication. The sleeping buffalo on the further side +of the bush, hearing the noise, sprang to his feet, and for a second, +not knowing what to do, stood still. At that instant the huge +rhinoceros blundered right on to him, and getting his horn beneath his +stomach gave him such a fearful dig that the buffalo was turned over on +to his back, while his assailant went a most amazing cropper over his +carcase. In another moment, however, the rhinoceros was up, and +wheeling round to the left, crashed through the bush down-hill and +towards the open country. + +“Instantly the whole place became alive with alarming sounds. In every +direction troops of snorting buffaloes charged through the forest, wild +with fright, while the injured bull on the further side of the bush +began to bellow like a mad thing. I lay quite still for a moment, +devoutly praying that none of the flying buffaloes would come my way. +Then when the danger lessened I got on to my feet, shook myself, and +looked round. One of my boys, he who had thrown himself backward into +the bush, was already half way up a tree—if heaven had been at the top +of it he could not have climbed quicker. Gobo was lying close to me, +groaning vigorously, but, as I suspected, quite unhurt; while from the +aloe bush into which No. 3 had bounded like a tennis ball, issued a +succession of the most piercing yells. + +“I looked, and saw that this unfortunate fellow was in a very tight +place. A great spike of aloe had run through the back of his skin +waist-belt, though without piercing his flesh, in such a fashion that +it was impossible for him to move, while within six feet of him the +injured buffalo bull, thinking, no doubt, that he was the aggressor, +bellowed and ramped to get at him, tearing the thick aloes with his +great horns. That no time was to be lost, if I wished to save the man’s +life, was very clear. So seizing my eight-bore, which was fortunately +uninjured, I took a pace to the left, for the rhinoceros had enlarged +the hole in the bush, and aimed at the point of the buffalo’s shoulder, +since on account of my position I could not get a fair side shot for +the heart. As I did so I saw that the rhinoceros had given the bull a +tremendous wound in the stomach, and that the shock of the encounter +had put his left hind-leg out of joint at the hip. I fired, and the +bullet striking the shoulder broke it, and knocked the buffalo down. I +knew that he could not get up any more, because he was now injured fore +and aft, so notwithstanding his terrific bellows I scrambled round to +where he was. There he lay glaring furiously and tearing up the soil +with his horns. Stepping up to within two yards of him I aimed at the +vertebra of his neck and fired. The bullet struck true, and with a thud +he dropped his head upon the ground, groaned, and died. + +“This little matter having been attended to with the assistance of +Gobo, who had now found his feet, I went on to extricate our +unfortunate companion from the aloe bush. This we found a thorny task, +but at last he was dragged forth uninjured, though in a very pious and +prayerful frame of mind. His ‘spirit had certainly looked that way,’ he +said, or he would now have been dead. As I never like to interfere with +true piety, I did not venture to suggest that his spirit had deigned to +make use of my eight-bore in his interest. + +“Having despatched this boy back to the camp to tell the bearers to +come and cut the buffalo up, I bethought me that I owed that rhinoceros +a grudge which I should love to repay. So without saying a word of what +was in my mind to Gobo, who was now more than ever convinced that Fate +walked about loose in Wambe’s country, I just followed on the brute’s +spoor. He had crashed through the bush till he reached the little +glade. Then moderating his pace somewhat, he had followed the glade +down its entire length, and once more turned to the right through the +forest, shaping his course for the open land that lies between the edge +of the bush and the river. Having followed him for a mile or so +further, I found myself quite on the open. I took out my glasses and +searched the plain. About a mile ahead was something brown—as I +thought, the rhinoceros. I advanced another quarter of a mile, and +looked once more—it was not the rhinoceros, but a big ant-heap. This +was puzzling, but I did not like to give it up, because I knew from his +spoor that he must be somewhere ahead. But as the wind was blowing +straight from me towards the line that he had followed, and as a +rhinoceros can smell you for about a mile, it would not, I felt, be +safe to follow his trail any further; so I made a détour of a mile and +more, till I was nearly opposite the ant-heap, and then once more +searched the plain. It was no good, I could see nothing of him, and was +about to give it up and start after some oryx I saw on the skyline, +when suddenly at a distance of about three hundred yards from the +ant-heap, and on its further side, I saw my rhino stand up in a patch +of grass. + +“‘Heavens!’ I thought to myself, ‘he’s off again;’ but no, after +standing staring for a minute or two he once more lay down. + +“Now I found myself in a quandary. As you know, a rhinoceros is a very +short-sighted brute, indeed his sight is as bad as his scent is good. +Of this fact he is perfectly aware, but he always makes the most of his +natural gifts. For instance, when he lies down he invariably does so +with his head down wind. Thus, if any enemy crosses his wind he will +still be able to escape, or attack him; and if, on the other hand, the +danger approaches up wind he will at least have a chance of seeing it. +Otherwise, by walking delicately, one might actually kick him up like a +partridge, if only the advance was made up wind. + +“Well, the point was, how on earth should I get within shot of this +rhinoceros? After much deliberation I determined to try a side +approach, thinking that in this way I might get a shoulder shot. +Accordingly we started in a crouching attitude, I first, Gobo holding +on to my coat tails, and the other boy on to Gobo’s moocha. I always +adopt this plan when stalking big game, for if you follow any other +system the bearers will get out of line. We arrived within three +hundred yards safely enough, and then the real difficulties began. The +grass had been so closely eaten off by game that there was scarcely any +cover. Consequently it was necessary to go on to our hands and knees, +which in my case involved laying down the eight-bore at every step and +then lifting it up again. However, I wriggled along somehow, and if it +had not been for Gobo and his friend no doubt everything would have +gone well. But as you have, I dare say, observed, a native out stalking +is always of that mind which is supposed to actuate an ostrich—so long +as his head is hidden he seems to think that nothing else can be seen. +So it was in this instance, Gobo and the other boy crept along on their +hands and toes with their heads well down, but, though unfortunately I +did not notice it till too late, bearing the fundamental portions of +their frames high in the air. Now all animals are quite as suspicious +of this end of mankind as they are of his face, and of that fact I soon +had a proof. Just when we had got within about two hundred yards, and I +was congratulating myself that I had not had this long crawl with the +sun beating on the back of my neck like a furnace for nothing, I heard +the hissing note of the rhinoceros birds, and up flew four or five of +them from the brute’s back, where they had been comfortably employed in +catching tics. Now this performance on the part of the birds is to a +rhinoceros what the word ‘cave’ is to a schoolboy—it puts him on the +_qui vive_ at once. Before the birds were well in the air I saw the +grass stir. + +“‘Down you go,’ I whispered to the boys, and as I did so the rhinoceros +got up and glared suspiciously around. But he could see nothing, indeed +if we had been standing up I doubt if he would have seen us at that +distance; so he merely gave two or three sniffs and then lay down, his +head still down wind, the birds once more settling on his back. + +“But it was clear to me that he was sleeping with one eye open, being +generally in a suspicious and unchristian frame of mind, and that it +was useless to proceed further on this stalk, so we quietly withdrew to +consider the position and study the ground. The results were not +satisfactory. There was absolutely no cover about except the ant-heap, +which was some three hundred yards from the rhinoceros upon his up-wind +side. I knew that if I tried to stalk him in front I should fail, and +so I should if I attempted to do so from the further side—he or the +birds would see me; so I came to a conclusion: I would go to the +ant-heap, which would give him my wind, and instead of stalking him I +would let him stalk me. It was a bold step, and one which I should +never advise a hunter to take, but somehow I felt as though rhino and I +must play the hand out. + +“I explained my intentions to the men, who both held up their arms in +horror. Their fears for my safety were a little mitigated, however, +when I told them that I did not expect them to come with me. + +“Gobo breathed a prayer that I might not meet Fate walking about, and +the other one sincerely trusted that my spirit might look my way when +the rhinoceros charged, and then they both departed to a place of +safety. + +“Taking my eight-bore, and half-a-dozen spare cartridges in my pocket, +I made a détour, and reaching the ant-heap in safety lay down. For a +moment the wind had dropped, but presently a gentle puff of air passed +over me, and blew on towards the rhinoceros. By the way, I wonder what +it is that smells so strong about a man? Is it his body or his breath? +I have never been able to make out, but I saw it stated the other day, +that in the duck decoys the man who is working the ducks holds a little +piece of burning turf before his mouth, and that if he does this they +cannot smell him, which looks as though it were the breath. Well, +whatever it was about me that attracted his attention, the rhinoceros +soon smelt me, for within half a minute after the puff of wind had +passed me he was on his legs, and turning round to get his head up +wind. There he stood for a few seconds and sniffed, and then he began +to move, first of all at a trot, then, as the scent grew stronger, at a +furious gallop. On he came, snorting like a runaway engine, with his +tail stuck straight up in the air; if he had seen me lie down there he +could not have made a better line. It was rather nervous work, I can +tell you, lying there waiting for his onslaught, for he looked like a +mountain of flesh. I determined, however, not to fire till I could +plainly see his eye, for I think that rule always gives one the right +distance for big game; so I rested my rifle on the ant-heap and waited +for him, kneeling. At last, when he was about forty yards away, I saw +that the time had come, and aiming straight for the middle of the chest +I pulled. + +“_Thud_ went the heavy bullet, and with a tremendous snort over rolled +the rhinoceros beneath its shock, just like a shot rabbit. But if I had +thought that he was done for I was mistaken, for in another second he +was up again, and coming at me as hard as ever, only with his head held +low. I waited till he was within ten yards, in the hope that he would +expose his chest, but he would do nothing of the sort; so I just had to +fire at his head with the left barrel, and take my chance. Well, as +luck would have it, of course the animal put its horn in the way of the +bullet, which cut clean through it about three inches above the root +and then glanced off into space. + +“After that things got rather serious. My gun was empty and the +rhinoceros was rapidly arriving, so rapidly indeed that I came to the +conclusion that I had better make way for him. Accordingly I jumped to +my feet and ran to the right as hard as I could go. As I did so he +arrived full tilt, knocked my friendly ant-heap flat, and for the third +time that day went a most magnificent cropper. This gave me a few +seconds’ start, and I ran down wind—my word, I did run! Unfortunately, +however, my modest retreat was observed, and the rhinoceros, as soon as +he had found his legs again, set to work to run after me. Now no man on +earth can run so fast as an irritated rhinoceros can gallop, and I knew +that he must soon catch me up. But having some slight experience of +this sort of thing, luckily for myself, I kept my head, and as I fled I +managed to open my rifle, get the old cartridges out, and put in two +fresh ones. To do this I was obliged to steady my pace a little, and by +the time that I had snapped the rifle to I heard the beast snorting and +thundering away within a few paces of my back. I stopped, and as I did +so rapidly cocked the rifle and slued round upon my heel. By this time +the brute was within six or seven yards of me, but luckily his head was +up. I lifted the rifle and fired at him. It was a snap shot, but the +bullet struck him in the chest within three inches of the first, and +found its way into his lungs. It did not stop him, however, so all I +could do was to bound to one side, which I did with surprising +activity, and as he brushed past me to fire the other barrel into his +side. That did for him. The ball passed in behind the shoulder and +right through his heart. He fell over on to his side, gave one more +awful squeal—a dozen pigs could not have made such a noise—and promptly +died, keeping his wicked eyes wide open all the time. + +“As for me, I blew my nose, and going up to the rhinoceros sat on his +head, and reflected that I had done a capital morning’s shooting.” + + + + +CHAPTER III. +THE FIRST ROUND + + +“After this, as it was now midday, and I had killed enough meat, we +marched back triumphantly to camp, where I proceeded to concoct a stew +of buffalo beef and compressed vegetables. When this was ready we ate +the stew, and then I took a nap. About four o’clock, however, Gobo woke +me up, and told me that the head man of one of Wambe’s kraals had +arrived to see me. I ordered him to be brought up, and presently he +came, a little, wizened, talkative old man, with a waistcloth round his +middle, and a greasy, frayed kaross made of the skins of rock rabbits +over his shoulders. + +“I told him to sit down, and then abused him roundly. ‘What did he +mean,’ I asked, ‘by disturbing me in this rude way? How did he dare to +cause a person of my quality and evident importance to be awakened in +order to interview his entirely contemptible self?’ + +“I spoke thus because I knew that it would produce an impression on +him. Nobody, except a really great man, he would argue, would dare to +speak to him in that fashion. Most savages are desperate bullies at +heart, and look on insolence as a sign of power. + +“The old man instantly collapsed. He was utterly overcome, he said; his +heart was split in two, and well realized the extent of his +misbehaviour. But the occasion was very urgent. He heard that a mighty +hunter was in the neighbourhood, a beautiful white man, how beautiful +he could not have imagined had he not seen (this to me!), and he came +to beg his assistance. The truth was, that three bull elephants such as +no man ever saw had for years been the terror of their kraal, which was +but a small place—a cattle kraal of the great chief Wambe’s, where they +lived to keep the cattle. And now of late these elephants had done them +much damage; but last night they had destroyed a whole patch of mealie +land, and he feared that if they came back they would all starve next +season for want of food. Would the mighty white man then be pleased to +come and kill the elephants? It would be easy for him to do—oh, most +easy! It was only necessary that he should hide himself in a tree, for +there was a full moon, and then when the elephants appeared he would +speak to them with the gun, and they would fall down dead, and there +would be an end of their troubling. + +“Of course I hummed and hawed, and made a great favour of consenting to +his proposal, though really I was delighted to have such a chance. One +of the conditions that I made was that a messenger should at once be +despatched to Wambe, whose kraal was two days’ journey from where I +was, telling him that I proposed to come and pay my respects to him in +a few days, and to ask his formal permission to shoot in his country. +Also I intimated that I was prepared to present him with ‘hongo,’ that +is, blackmail, and that I hoped to do a little trade with him in ivory, +of which I heard he had a great quantity. + +“This message the old gentleman promised to despatch at once, though +there was something about his manner which showed me that he was +doubtful as to how it would be received. After that we struck our camp +and moved on to the kraal, which we reached about an hour before +sunset. This kraal was a collection of huts surrounded by a slight +thorn-fence, perhaps there were ten of them in all. It was situated in +a kloof of the mountain down which a rivulet flowed. The kloof was +densely wooded, but for some distance above the kraal it was free from +bush, and here on the rich deep ground brought down by the rivulet were +the cultivated lands, in extent somewhere about twenty or twenty-five +acres. On the kraal side of these lands stood a single hut, that served +for a mealie store, which at the moment was used as a dwelling-place by +an old woman, the first wife of our friend the head man. + +“It appears that this lady, having had some difference of opinion with +her husband about the extent of authority allowed to a younger and more +amiable wife, had refused to dwell in the kraal any more, and, by way +of marking her displeasure, had taken up her abode among the mealies. +As the issue will show, she was, it happened, cutting off her nose to +spite her face. + +“Close by this hut grew a large baobab tree. A glance at the mealie +grounds showed me that the old head man had not exaggerated the +mischief done by the elephants to his crops, which were now getting +ripe. Nearly half of the entire patch was destroyed. The great brutes +had eaten all they could, and the rest they had trampled down. I went +up to their spoor and started back in amazement—never had I seen such a +spoor before. It was simply enormous, more especially that of one old +bull, that carried, so said the natives, but a single tusk. One might +have used any of the footprints for a hip-bath. + +“Having taken stock of the position, my next step was to make +arrangements for the fray. The three bulls, according to the natives, +had been spoored into the dense patch of bush above the kloof. Now it +seemed to me very probable that they would return to-night to feed on +the remainder of the ripening mealies. If so, there was a bright moon, +and it struck me that by the exercise of a little ingenuity I might bag +one or more of them without exposing myself to any risk, which, having +the highest respect for the aggressive powers of bull elephants, was a +great consideration to me. + +“This then was my plan. To the right of the huts as you look up the +kloof, and commanding the mealie lands, stands the baobab tree that I +have mentioned. Into that baobab tree I made up my mind to go. Then if +the elephants appeared I should get a shot at them. I announced my +intentions to the head man of the kraal, who was delighted. ‘Now,’ he +said, ‘his people might sleep in peace, for while the mighty white +hunter sat aloft like a spirit watching over the welfare of his kraal +what was there to fear?’ + +“I told him that he was an ungrateful brute to think of sleeping in +peace while, perched like a wounded vulture on a tree, I watched for +his welfare in wakeful sorrow; and once more he collapsed, and owned +that my words were ‘sharp but just.’ + +“However, as I have said, confidence was completely restored; and that +evening everybody in the kraal, including the superannuated victim of +jealousy in the little hut where the mealie cobs were stored, went to +bed with a sense of sweet security from elephants and all other animals +that prowl by night. + +“For my part, I pitched my camp below the kraal; and then, having +procured a beam of wood from the head man—rather a rotten one, by the +way—I set it across two boughs that ran out laterally from the baobab +tree, at a height of about twenty-five feet from the ground, in such +fashion that I and another man could sit upon it with our legs hanging +down, and rest our backs against the bole of the tree. This done I went +back to the camp and ate my supper. About nine o’clock, half-an-hour +before the moon-rise, I summoned Gobo, who, thinking that he had seen +about enough of the delights of big game hunting for that day, did not +altogether relish the job; and, despite his remonstrances, gave him my +eight-bore to carry, I having the .570-express. Then we set out for the +tree. It was very dark, but we found it without difficulty, though +climbing it was a more complicated matter. However, at last we got up +and sat down, like two little boys on a form that is too high for them, +and waited. I did not dare to smoke, because I remembered the +rhinoceros, and feared that the elephants might wind the tobacco if +they should come my way, and this made the business more wearisome, so +I fell to thinking and wondering at the completeness of the silence. + +“At last the moon came up, and with it a moaning wind, at the breath of +which the silence began to whisper mysteriously. Lonely enough in the +newborn light looked the wide expanse of mountain, plain, and forest, +more like some vision of a dream, some reflection from a fair world of +peace beyond our ken, than the mere face of garish earth made soft with +sleep. Indeed, had it not been for the fact that I was beginning to +find the log on which I sat very hard, I should have grown quite +sentimental over the beautiful sight; but I will defy anybody to become +sentimental when seated in the damp, on a very rough beam of wood, and +half-way up a tree. So I merely made a mental note that it was a +particularly lovely night, and turned my attention to the prospect of +elephants. But no elephants came, and after waiting for another hour or +so, I think that what between weariness and disgust, I must have +dropped into a gentle doze. Presently I awoke with a start. Gobo, who +was perched close to me, but as far off as the beam would allow—for +neither white man nor black like the aroma which each vows is the +peculiar and disagreeable property of the other—was faintly, very +faintly clicking his forefinger against his thumb. I knew by this +signal, a very favourite one among native hunters and gun-bearers, that +he must have seen or heard something. I looked at his face, and saw +that he was staring excitedly towards the dim edge of the bush beyond +the deep green line of mealies. I stared too, and listened. Presently I +heard a soft large sound as though a giant were gently stretching out +his hands and pressing back the ears of standing corn. Then came a +pause, and then, out into the open majestically stalked the largest +elephant I ever saw or ever shall see. Heavens! what a monster he was; +and how the moonlight gleamed upon his one splendid tusk—for the other +was missing—as he stood among the mealies gently moving his enormous +ears to and fro, and testing the wind with his trunk. While I was still +marvelling at his girth, and speculating upon the weight of that huge +tusk, which I swore should be my tusk before very long, out stepped a +second bull and stood beside him. He was not quite so tall, but he +seemed to me to be almost thicker-set than the first; and even in that +light I could see that both his tusks were perfect. Another pause, and +the third emerged. He was shorter than either of the others, but higher +in the shoulder than No. 2; and when I tell you, as I afterwards learnt +from actual measurement, that the smallest of these mighty bulls +measured twelve feet one and a half inches at the shoulder, it will +give you some idea of their size. The three formed into line and stood +still for a minute, the one-tusked bull gently caressing the elephant +on the left with his trunk. + +“Then they began to feed, walking forward and slightly to the right as +they gathered great bunches of the sweet mealies and thrust them into +their mouths. All this time they were more than a hundred and twenty +yards away from me (this I knew, because I had paced the distances from +the tree to various points), much too far to allow of my attempting a +shot at them in that uncertain light. They fed in a semicircle, +gradually drawing round towards the hut near my tree, in which the corn +was stored and the old woman slept. + +“This went on for between an hour and an hour and a half, till, what +between excitement and hope, that maketh the heart sick, I grew so +weary that I was actually contemplating a descent from the tree and a +moonlight stalk. Such an act in ground so open would have been that of +a stark staring lunatic, and that I should even have been contemplating +it will show you the condition of my mind. But everything comes to him +who knows how to wait, and sometimes too to him who doesn’t, and so at +last those elephants, or rather one of them, came to me. + +“After they had fed their fill, which was a very large one, the noble +three stood once more in line some seventy yards to the left of the +hut, and on the edge of the cultivated lands, or in all about +eighty-five yards from where I was perched. Then at last the one with a +single tusk made a peculiar rattling noise in his trunk, just as though +he were blowing his nose, and without more ado began to walk +deliberately toward the hut where the old woman slept. I made my rifle +ready and glanced up at the moon, only to discover that a new +complication was looming in the immediate future. I have said that a +wind rose with the moon. Well, the wind brought rain-clouds along its +track. Several light ones had already lessened the light for a little +while, though without obscuring it, and now two more were coming up +rapidly, both of them very black and dense. The first cloud was small +and long, and the one behind big and broad. I remember noticing that +the pair of them bore a most comical resemblance to a dray drawn by a +very long raw-boned horse. As luck would have it, just as the elephant +arrived within twenty-five yards or so of me, the head of the +horse-cloud floated over the face of the moon, rendering it impossible +for me to fire. In the faint twilight which remained, however, I could +just make out the gray mass of the great brute still advancing towards +the hut. Then the light went altogether and I had to trust to my ears. +I heard him fumbling with his trunk, apparently at the roof of the hut; +next came a sound as of straw being drawn out, and then for a little +while there was complete silence. + +“The cloud began to pass; I could see the outline of the elephant; he +was standing with his head quite over the top of the hut. But I could +not see his trunk, and no wonder, for it was _inside the hut_. He had +thrust it through the roof, and, attracted no doubt by the smell of the +mealies, was groping about with it inside. It was growing light now, +and I got my rifle ready, when suddenly there was a most awful yell, +and I saw the trunk reappear, and in its mighty fold the old woman who +had been sleeping in the hut. Out she came through the hole like a +periwinkle on the point of a pin, still wrapped up in her blanket, and +with her skinny arms and legs stretched to the four points of the +compass, and as she did so, gave that most alarming screech. I really +don’t know who was the most frightened, she, or I, or the elephant. At +any rate the last was considerably startled; he had been fishing for +mealies—the old woman was a mere accident, and one that greatly +discomposed his nerves. He gave a sort of trumpet, and threw her away +from him right into the crown of a low mimosa tree, where she stuck +shrieking like a metropolitan engine. The old bull lifted his tail, and +flapping his great ears prepared for flight. I put up my eight-bore, +and aiming hastily at the point of his shoulder (for he was broadside +on), I fired. The report rang out like thunder, making a thousand +echoes in the quiet hills. I saw him go down all of a heap as though he +were stone dead. Then, alas! whether it was the kick of the heavy +rifle, or the excited bump of that idiot Gobo, or both together, or +merely an unhappy coincidence, I do not know, but the rotten beam broke +and I went down too, landing flat at the foot of the tree upon a +certain humble portion of the human frame. The shock was so severe that +I felt as though all my teeth were flying through the roof of my mouth, +but although I sat slightly stunned for a few seconds, luckily for me I +fell light, and was not in any way injured. + +“Meanwhile the elephant began to scream with fear and fury, and, +attracted by his cries, the other two charged up. I felt for my rifle; +it was not there. Then I remembered that I had rested it on a fork of +the bough in order to fire, and doubtless there it remained. My +position was now very unpleasant. I did not dare to try and climb the +tree again, which, shaken as I was, would have been a task of some +difficulty, because the elephants would certainly see me, and Gobo, who +had clung to a bough, was still aloft with the other rifle. I could not +run because there was no shelter near. Under these circumstances I did +the only thing feasible, clambered round the trunk as softly as +possible, and keeping one eye on the elephants, whispered to Gobo to +bring down the rifle, and awaited the development of the situation. I +knew that if the elephants did not see me—which, luckily, they were too +enraged to do—they would not smell me, for I was up-wind. Gobo, +however, either did not, or, preferring the safety of the tree, would +not hear me. He said the former, but I believed the latter, for I knew +that he was not enough of a sportsman to really enjoy shooting +elephants by moonlight in the open. So there I was behind my tree, +dismayed, unarmed, but highly interested, for I was witnessing a +remarkable performance. + +“When the two other bulls arrived the wounded elephant on the ground +ceased to scream, but began to make a low moaning noise, and to gently +touch the wound near his shoulder, from which the blood was literally +spouting. The other two seemed to understand; at any rate, they did +this. Kneeling down on either side, they placed their trunks and tusks +underneath him, and, aided by his own efforts, with one great lift got +him on to his feet. Then leaning against him on either side to support +him, they marched off at a walk in the direction of the village.[*] It +was a pitiful sight, and even then it made me feel a brute. + +[*] The Editor would have been inclined to think that in relating this +incident Mr. Quatermain was making himself interesting at the expense +of the exact truth, did it not happen that a similar incident has come +within his knowledge.—Editor. + + +“Presently, from a walk, as the wounded elephant gathered himself +together a little, they broke into a trot, and after that I could +follow them no longer with my eyes, for the second black cloud came up +over the moon and put her out, as an extinguisher puts out a dip. I say +with my eyes, but my ears gave me a very fair notion of what was going +on. When the cloud came up the three terrified animals were heading +directly for the kraal, probably because the way was open and the path +easy. I fancy that they grew confused in the darkness, for when they +came to the kraal fence they did not turn aside, but crashed straight +through it. Then there were ‘times,’ as the Irish servant-girl says in +the American book. Having taken the fence, they thought that they might +as well take the kraal also, so they just ran over it. One hive-shaped +hut was turned quite over on to its top, and when I arrived upon the +scene the people who had been sleeping there were bumbling about inside +like bees disturbed at night, while two more were crushed flat, and a +third had all its side torn out. Oddly enough, however, nobody was +hurt, though several people had a narrow escape of being trodden to +death. + +“On arrival I found the old head man in a state painfully like that +favoured by Greek art, dancing about in front of his ruined abodes as +vigorously as though he had just been stung by a scorpion. + +“I asked him what ailed him, and he burst out into a flood of abuse. He +called me a Wizard, a Sham, a Fraud, a Bringer of bad luck! I had +promised to kill the elephants, and I had so arranged things that the +elephants had nearly killed him, etc. + +“This, still smarting, or rather aching, as I was from that most +terrific bump, was too much for my feelings, so I just made a rush at +my friend, and getting him by the ear, I banged his head against the +doorway of his own hut, which was all that was left of it. + +“‘You wicked old scoundrel,’ I said, ‘you dare to complain about your +own trifling inconveniences, when you gave me a rotten beam to sit on, +and thereby delivered me to the fury of the elephant’ (_bump! bump! +bump!_), ‘when your own wife’ (_bump!_) ‘has just been dragged out of +her hut’ (_bump!_) ‘like a snail from its shell, and thrown by the +Earth-shaker into a tree’ (_bump! bump!_). + +“‘Mercy, my father, mercy!’ gasped the old fellow. ‘Truly I have done +amiss—my heart tells me so.’ + +“‘I should hope it did, you old villain’ (_bump!_). + +“‘Mercy, great white man! I thought the log was sound. But what says +the unequalled chief—is the old woman, my wife, indeed dead? Ah, if she +is dead all may yet prove to have been for the very best;’ and he +clasped his hands and looked up piously to heaven, in which the moon +was once more shining brightly. + +“I let go his ear and burst out laughing, the whole scene and his +devout aspirations for the decease of the partner of his joys, or +rather woes, were so intensely ridiculous. + +“‘No, you old iniquity,’ I answered; ‘I left her in the top of a +thorn-tree, screaming like a thousand bluejays. The elephant put her +there.’ + +“‘Alas! alas!’ he said, ‘surely the back of the ox is shaped to the +burden. Doubtless, my father, she will come down when she is tired;’ +and without troubling himself further about the matter, he began to +blow at the smouldering embers of the fire. + +“And, as a matter of fact, she did appear a few minutes later, +considerably scratched and startled, but none the worse. + +“After that I made my way to my little camp, which, fortunately, the +elephants had not walked over, and wrapping myself up in a blanket, was +soon fast asleep. + +“And so ended my first round with those three elephants.” + + + + +CHAPTER IV. +THE LAST ROUND + + +“On the morrow I woke up full of painful recollections, and not without +a certain feeling of gratitude to the Powers above that I was there to +wake up. Yesterday had been a tempestuous day; indeed, what between +buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephant, it had been very tempestuous. Having +realized this fact, I next bethought me of those magnificent tusks, and +instantly, early as it was, broke the tenth commandment. I coveted my +neighbour’s tusks, if an elephant could be said to be my neighbour _de +jure_, as certainly, so recently as the previous night, he had been _de +facto_—a much closer neighbour than I cared for, indeed. Now when you +covet your neighbour’s goods, the best thing, if not the most moral +thing, to do is to enter his house as a strong man armed, and take +them. I was not a strong man, but having recovered my eight-bore I was +armed, and so was the other strong man—the elephant with the tusks. +Consequently I prepared for a struggle to the death. In other words, I +summoned my faithful retainers, and told them that I was now going to +follow those elephants to the edge of the world, if necessary. They +showed a certain bashfulness about the business, but they did not +gainsay me, because they dared not. Ever since I had prepared with all +due solemnity to execute the rebellious Gobo they had conceived a great +respect for me. + +“So I went up to bid adieu to the old head man, whom I found +alternately contemplating the ruins of his kraal and, with the able +assistance of his last wife, thrashing the jealous lady who had slept +in the mealie hut, because she was, as he declared, the fount of all +his sorrows. + +“Leaving them to work a way through their domestic differences, I +levied a supply of vegetable food from the kraal in consideration of +services rendered, and left them with my blessing. I do not know how +they settled matters, because I have not seen them since. + +“Then I started on the spoor of the three bulls. For a couple of miles +or so below the kraal—as far, indeed, as the belt of swamp that borders +the river—the ground is at this spot rather stony, and clothed with +scattered bushes. Rain had fallen towards the daybreak, and this fact, +together with the nature of the soil, made spooring a very difficult +business. The wounded bull had indeed bled freely, but the rain had +washed the blood off the leaves and grass, and the ground being so +rough and hard did not take the footmarks so clearly as was convenient. +However, we got along, though slowly, partly by the spoor, and partly +by carefully lifting leaves and blades of grass, and finding blood +underneath them, for the blood gushing from a wounded animal often +falls upon their inner surfaces, and then, of course, unless the rain +is very heavy, it is not washed away. It took us something over an hour +and a half to reach the edge of the marsh, but once there our task +became much easier, for the soft soil showed plentiful evidences of the +great brutes’ passage. Threading our way through the swampy land, we +came at last to a ford of the river, and here we could see where the +poor wounded animal had lain down in the mud and water in the hope of +easing himself of his pain, and could see also how his two faithful +companions had assisted him to rise again. We crossed the ford, and +took up the spoor on the further side, and followed it into the +marsh-like land beyond. No rain had fallen on this side of the river, +and the blood-marks were consequently much more frequent. + +“All that day we followed the three bulls, now across open plains, and +now through patches of bush. They seemed to have travelled on almost +without stopping, and I noticed that as they went the wounded bull +recovered his strength a little. This I could see from his spoor, which +had become firmer, and also from the fact that the other two had ceased +to support him. At last evening closed in, and having travelled some +eighteen miles, we camped, thoroughly tired out. + +“Before dawn on the following day we were up, and the first break of +light found us once more on the spoor. About half-past five o’clock we +reached the place where the elephants had fed and slept. The two +unwounded bulls had taken their fill, as the condition of the +neighbouring bushes showed, but the wounded one had eaten nothing. He +had spent the night leaning against a good-sized tree, which his weight +had pushed out of the perpendicular. They had not long left this place, +and could not be very far ahead, especially as the wounded bull was now +again so stiff after his night’s rest that for the first few miles the +other two had been obliged to support him. But elephants go very quick, +even when they seem to be travelling slowly, for shrub and creepers +that almost stop a man’s progress are no hindrance to them. The three +had now turned to the left, and were travelling back again in a +semicircular line toward the mountains, probably with the idea of +working round to their old feeding grounds on the further side of the +river. + +“There was nothing for it but to follow their lead, and accordingly we +followed with industry. Through all that long hot day did we tramp, +passing quantities of every sort of game, and even coming across the +spoor of other elephants. But, in spite of my men’s entreaties, I would +not turn aside after these. I would have those mighty tusks or none. + +“By evening we were quite close to our game, probably within a quarter +of a mile, but the bush was dense, and we could see nothing of them, so +once more we must camp, thoroughly disgusted with our luck. That night, +just after the moon rose, while I was sitting smoking my pipe with my +back against a tree, I heard an elephant trumpet, as though something +had startled it, and not three hundred yards away. I was very tired, +but my curiosity overcame my weariness, so, without saying a word to +any of the men, all of whom were asleep, I took my eight-bore and a few +spare cartridges, and steered toward the sound. The game path which we +had been following all day ran straight on in the direction from which +the elephant had trumpeted. It was narrow, but well trodden, and the +light struck down upon it in a straight white line. I crept along it +cautiously for some two hundred yards, when it opened suddenly into a +most beautiful glade some hundred yards or more in width, wherein tall +grass grew and flat-topped trees stood singly. With the caution born of +long experience I watched for a few moments before I entered the glade, +and then I saw why the elephant had trumpeted. There in the middle of +the glade stood a large maned lion. He stood quite still, making a soft +purring noise, and waving his tail to and fro. Presently the grass +about forty yards on the hither side of him gave a wide ripple, and a +lioness sprang out of it like a flash, and bounded noiselessly up to +the lion. Reaching him, the great cat halted suddenly, and rubbed her +head against his shoulder. Then they both began to purr loudly, so +loudly that I believe that in the stillness one might have heard them +two hundred yards or more away. + +“After a time, while I was still hesitating what to do, either they got +a whiff of my wind, or they wearied of standing still, and determined +to start in search of game. At any rate, as though moved by a common +impulse, they bounded suddenly away, leap by leap, and vanished in the +depths of the forest to the left. I waited for a little while longer to +see if there were any more yellow skins about, and seeing none, came to +the conclusion that the lions must have frightened the elephants away, +and that I had taken my stroll for nothing. But just as I was turning +back I thought that I heard a bough break upon the further side of the +glade, and, rash as the act was, I followed the sound. I crossed the +glade as silently as my own shadow. On its further side the path went +on. Albeit with many fears, I went on too. The jungle growth was so +thick here that it almost met overhead, leaving so small a passage for +the light that I could scarcely see to grope my way along. Presently, +however, it widened, and then opened into a second glade slightly +smaller than the first, and there, on the further side of it, about +eighty yards from me, stood the three enormous elephants. + +“They stood thus:—Immediately opposite and facing me was the wounded +one-tusked bull. He was leaning his bulk against a dead thorn-tree, the +only one in the place, and looked very sick indeed. Near him stood the +second bull as though keeping a watch over him. The third elephant was +a good deal nearer to me and broadside on. While I was still staring at +them, this elephant suddenly walked off and vanished down a path in the +bush to the right. + +“There are now two things to be done—either I could go back to the camp +and advance upon the elephants at dawn, or I could attack them at once. +The first was, of course, by far the wiser and safer course. To engage +one elephant by moonlight and single-handed is a sufficiently rash +proceeding; to tackle three was little short of lunacy. But, on the +other hand, I knew that they would be on the march again before +daylight, and there might come another day of weary trudging before I +could catch them up, or they might escape me altogether. + +“‘No,’ I thought to myself, ‘faint heart never won fair tusk. I’ll risk +it, and have a slap at them. But how?’ I could not advance across the +open, for they would see me; clearly the only thing to do was to creep +round in the shadow of the bush and try to come upon them so. So I +started. Seven or eight minutes of careful stalking brought me to the +mouth of the path down which the third elephant had walked. The other +two were now about fifty yards from me, and the nature of the wall of +bush was such that I could not see how to get nearer to them without +being discovered. I hesitated, and peeped down the path which the +elephant had followed. About five yards in, it took a turn round a +shrub. I thought that I would just have a look behind it, and advanced, +expecting that I should be able to catch a sight of the elephant’s +tail. As it happened, however, I met his trunk coming round the corner. +It is very disconcerting to see an elephant’s trunk when you expect to +see his tail, and for a moment I stood paralyzed almost under the vast +brute’s head, for he was not five yards from me. He too halted, threw +up his trunk and trumpeted preparatory to a charge. I was in for it +now, for I could not escape either to the right or left, on account of +the bush, and I did not dare turn my back. So I did the only thing that +I could do—raised the rifle and fired at the black mass of his chest. +It was too dark for me to pick a shot; I could only brown him, as it +were. + +“The shot rung out like thunder on the quiet air, and the elephant +answered it with a scream, then dropped his trunk and stood for a +second or two as still as though he had been cut in stone. I confess +that I lost my head; I ought to have fired my second barrel, but I did +not. Instead of doing so, I rapidly opened my rifle, pulled out the old +cartridge from the right barrel and replaced it. But before I could +snap the breech to, the bull was at me. I saw his great trunk fly up +like a brown beam, and I waited no longer. Turning, I fled for dear +life, and after me thundered the elephant. Right into the open glade I +ran, and then, thank Heaven, just as he was coming up with me the +bullet took effect on him. He had been shot right through the heart, or +lungs, and down he fell with a crash, stone dead. + +“But in escaping from Scylla I had run into the jaws of Charybdis. I +heard the elephant fall, and glanced round. Straight in front of me, +and not fifteen paces away, were the other two bulls. They were staring +about, and at that moment they caught sight of me. Then they came, the +pair of them—came like thunderbolts, and from different angles. I had +only time to snap my rifle to, lift it, and fire, almost at haphazard, +at the head of the nearest, the unwounded bull. + +“Now, as you know, in the case of the African elephant, whose skull is +convex, and not concave like that of the Indian, this is always a most +risky and very frequently a perfectly useless shot. The bullet loses +itself in the masses of bone, that is all. But there is one little +vital place, and should the bullet happen to strike there, it will +follow the channel of the nostrils—at least I suppose it is that of the +nostrils—and reach the brain. And this was what happened in the present +case—the ball struck the fatal spot in the region of the eye and +travelled to the brain. Down came the great bull all of a heap, and +rolled on to his side as dead as a stone. I swung round at that instant +to face the third, the monster bull with one tusk that I had wounded +two days before. He was already almost over me, and in the dim +moonlight seemed to tower above me like a house. I lifted the rifle and +pulled at his neck. It would not go off! Then, in a flash, as it were, +I remembered that it was on the half-cock. The lock of this barrel was +a little weak, and a few days before, in firing at a cow eland, the +left barrel had jarred off at the shock of the discharge of the right, +knocking me backwards with the recoil; so after that I had kept it on +the half-cock till I actually wanted to fire it. + +“I gave one desperate bound to the right, and, my lame leg +notwithstanding, I believe that few men could have made a better jump. +At any rate, it was none too soon, for as I jumped I felt the wind made +by the tremendous downward stroke of the monster’s trunk. Then I ran +for it. + +“I ran like a buck, still keeping hold of my gun, however. My idea, so +far as I could be said to have any fixed idea, was to bolt down the +pathway up which I had come, like a rabbit down a burrow, trusting that +he would lose sight of me in the uncertain light. I sped across the +glade. Fortunately the bull, being wounded, could not go full speed; +but wounded or no, he could go quite as fast as I could. I was unable +to gain an inch, and away we went, with just about three feet between +our separate extremities. We were at the other side now, and a glance +served to show me that I had miscalculated and overshot the opening. To +reach it now was hopeless; I should have blundered straight into the +elephant. So I did the only thing I could do: I swerved like a course +hare, and started off round the edge of the glade, seeking for some +opening into which I could plunge. This gave me a moment’s start, for +the bull could not turn as quickly as I could, and I made the most of +it. But no opening could I see; the bush was like a wall. We were +speeding round the edge of the glade, and the elephant was coming up +again. Now he was within about six feet, and now, as he trumpeted or +rather screamed, I could feel the fierce hot blast of his breath strike +upon my head. Heavens! how it frightened me! + +“We were three parts round the glade now, and about fifty yards ahead +was the single large dead thorn-tree against which the bull had been +leaning. I spurted for it; it was my last chance of safety. But spurt +as I would, it seemed hours before I got there. Putting out my right +hand, I swung round the tree, thus bringing myself face to face with +the elephant. I had not time to lift the rifle to fire, I had barely +time to cock it, and run sideways and backward, when he was on to me. +Crash! he came, striking the tree full with his forehead. It snapped +like a carrot about forty inches from the ground. Fortunately I was +clear of the trunk, but one of the dead branches struck me on the chest +as it went down and swept me to the ground. I fell upon my back, and +the elephant blundered past me as I lay. More by instinct than anything +else I lifted the rifle with one hand and pulled the trigger. It +exploded, and, as I discovered afterwards, the bullet struck him in the +ribs. But the recoil of the heavy rifle held thus was very severe; it +bent my arm up, and sent the butt with a thud against the top of my +shoulder and the side of my neck, for the moment quite paralyzing me, +and causing the weapon to jump from my grasp. Meanwhile the bull was +rushing on. He travelled for some twenty paces, and then suddenly he +stopped. Faintly I reflected that he was coming back to finish me, but +even the prospect of imminent and dreadful death could not rouse me +into action. I was utterly spent; I could not move. + +“Idly, almost indifferently, I watched his movements. For a moment he +stood still, next he trumpeted till the welkin rang, and then very +slowly, and with great dignity, he knelt down. At this point I swooned +away. + +“When I came to myself again I saw from the moon that I must have been +insensible for quite two hours. I was drenched with dew, and shivering +all over. At first I could not think where I was, when, on lifting my +head, I saw the outline of the one-tusked bull still kneeling some +five-and-twenty paces from me. Then I remembered. Slowly I raised +myself, and was instantly taken with a violent sickness, the result of +over-exertion, after which I very nearly fainted a second time. +Presently I grew better, and considered the position. Two of the +elephants were, as I knew, dead; but how about No. 3? There he knelt in +majesty in the lonely moonlight. The question was, was he resting, or +dead? I rose on my hands and knees, loaded my rifle, and painfully +crept a few paces nearer. I could see his eye now, for the moonlight +fell full upon it—it was open, and rather prominent. I crouched and +watched; the eyelid did not move, nor did the great brown body, or the +trunk, or the ear, or the tail—nothing moved. Then I knew that he must +be dead. + +“I crept up to him, still keeping the rifle well forward, and gave him +a thump, reflecting as I did so how very near I had been to being +thumped instead of thumping. He never stirred; certainly he was dead, +though to this day I do not know if it was my random shot that killed +him, or if he died from concussion of the brain consequent upon the +tremendous shock of his contact with the tree. Anyhow, there he was. +Cold and beautiful he lay, or rather knelt, as the poet neatly puts it. +Indeed, I do not think that I have ever seen a sight more imposing in +its way than that of the mighty beast crouched in majestic death, and +shone upon by the lonely moon. + +“While I stood admiring the scene, and heartily congratulating myself +upon my escape, once more I began to feel sick. Accordingly, without +waiting to examine the other two bulls, I staggered back to the camp, +which in due course I reached in safety. Everybody in it was asleep. I +did not wake them, but having swallowed a mouthful of brandy I threw +off my coat and shoes, rolled myself up in a blanket, and was soon fast +asleep. + +“When I woke it was already light, and at first I thought that, like +Joseph, I had dreamed a dream. At that moment, however, I turned my +head, and quickly knew that it was no dream, for my neck and face were +so stiff from the blow of the butt-end of the rifle that it was agony +to move them. I collapsed for a minute or two. Gobo and another man, +wrapped up like a couple of monks in their blankets, thinking that I +was still asleep, were crouched over a little fire they had made, for +the morning was damp and chilly, and holding sweet converse. + +“Gobo said that he was getting tired of running after elephants which +they never caught. Macumazahn (that is, myself) was without doubt a man +of parts, and of some skill in shooting, but also he was a fool. None +but a fool would run so fast and far after elephants which it was +impossible to catch, when they kept cutting the spoor of fresh ones. He +certainly was a fool, but he must not be allowed to continue in his +folly; and he, Gobo, had determined to put a stop to it. He should +refuse to accompany him any further on so mad a hunt. + +“‘Yes,’ the other answered, ‘the poor man certainly was sick in his +head, and it was quite time that they checked his folly while they +still had a patch of skin left upon their feet. Moreover, he for his +part certainly did not like this country of Wambe’s, which really was +full of ghosts. Only the last night he had heard the spooks at +work—they were out shooting, at least it sounded as though they were. +It was very queer, but perhaps their lunatic of a master——’ + +“‘Gobo, you scoundrel!’ I shouted out at this juncture, sitting bolt +upright on the blankets, ‘stop idling there and make me some coffee.’ + +“Up sprang Gobo and his friend, and in half a moment were respectfully +skipping about in a manner that contrasted well with the lordly +contempt of their previous conversation. But all the time they were in +earnest in what they said about hunting the elephants any further, for +before I had finished my coffee they came to me in a body, and said +that if I wanted to follow those elephants I must follow them myself, +for they would not go. + +“I argued with them, and affected to be much put out. The elephants +were close at hand, I said; I was sure of it; I had heard them trumpet +in the night. + +“‘Yes,’ answered the men mysteriously, ‘they too had heard things in +the night, things not nice to hear; they had heard the spooks out +shooting, and no longer would they remain in a country so vilely +haunted.’ + +“‘It was nonsense,’ I replied. ‘If ghosts went out shooting, surely +they would use air-guns and not black powder, and one would not hear an +air-gun. Well, if they were cowards, and would not come, of course I +could not force them to, but I would make a bargain with them. They +should follow those elephants for one half-hour more, then if we failed +to come upon them I would abandon the pursuit, and we would go straight +to Wambe, chief of the Matuku, and give him hongo.’ + +“To this compromise the men agreed readily. Accordingly about +half-an-hour later we struck our camp and started, and notwithstanding +my aches and bruises, I do not think that I ever felt in better spirits +in my life. It is something to wake up in the morning and remember that +in the dead of the night, single-handed, one has given battle to and +overthrown three of the largest elephants in Africa, slaying them with +three bullets. Such a feat to my knowledge had never been done before, +and on that particular morning I felt a very ‘tall man of my hands’ +indeed. The only thing I feared was, that should I ever come to tell +the story nobody would believe it, for when a strange tale is told by a +hunter, people are apt to think it is necessarily a lie, instead of +being only probably so.[*] + +[*] For the satisfaction of any who may be so disbelieving as to take +this view of Mr. Quatermain’s story, the Editor may state that a +gentleman with whom he is acquainted, and whose veracity he believes to +be beyond doubt, not long ago described to him how he chanced to kill +_four_ African elephants with four consecutive bullets. Two of these +elephants were charging him simultaneously, and out of the four three +were killed with the head shot, a very uncommon thing in the case of +the African elephant.—Editor. + + +“Well, we passed on till, having crossed the first glade where I had +seen the lions, we reached the neck of bush that separated it from the +second glade, where the dead elephants were. And here I began to take +elaborate precautions, amongst others ordering Gobo to keep some yards +ahead and look out sharp, as I thought that the elephants might be +about. He obeyed my instructions with a superior smile, and pushed +ahead. Presently I saw him pull up as though he had been shot, and +begin to snap his fingers faintly. + +“‘What is it?’ I whispered. + +“‘The elephant, the great elephant with one tusk kneeling down.’ + +“I crept up beside him. There knelt the bull as I had left him last +night, and there too lay the other bulls. + +“‘Do these elephants sleep?’ I whispered to the astonished Gobo. + +“‘Yes, Macumazahn, they sleep.’ + +“‘Nay, Gobo, they are dead.’ + +“‘Dead? How can they be dead? Who killed them?’ + +“‘What do people call me, Gobo?’ + +“‘They call you Macumazahn.’ + +“‘And what does Macumazahn mean?’ + +“‘It means the man who keeps his eyes open, the man who gets up in the +night.’ + +“‘Yes, Gobo, and I am that man. Look, you idle, lazy cowards; while you +slept last night I rose, and alone I hunted those great elephants, and +slew them by the moonlight. To each of them I gave one bullet and only +one, and it fell dead. Look,’ and I advanced into the glade, ‘here is +my spoor, and here is the spoor of the great bull charging after me, +and there is the tree that I took refuge behind; see, the elephant +shattered it in his charge. Oh, you cowards, you who would give up the +chase while the blood spoor steamed beneath your nostrils, see what I +did single-handed while you slept, and be ashamed.’ + +“‘_Ou!_’ said the men, ‘_ou!_ Koos! Koos y umcool!’ (Chief, great +Chief!) And then they held their tongues, and going up to the three +dead beasts, gazed upon them in silence. + +“But after that those men looked upon me with awe as being almost more +than mortal. No mere man, they said, could have slain those three +elephants alone in the night-time. I never had any further trouble with +them. I believe that if I had told them to jump over a precipice and +that they would take no harm, they would have believed me. + +“Well, I went up and examined the bulls. Such tusks as they had I never +saw and never shall see again. It took us all day to cut them out; and +when they reached Delagoa Bay, as they did ultimately, though not in my +keeping, the single tusk of the big bull scaled one hundred and sixty +pounds, and the four other tusks averaged ninety-nine and a half +pounds—a most wonderful, indeed an almost unprecedented, lot of +ivory.[*] Unfortunately I was forced to saw the big tusk in two, +otherwise we could not have carried it.” + +[*] The largest elephant tusk of which the Editor has any certain +knowledge scaled one hundred and fifty pounds. + + +“Oh, Quatermain, you barbarian!” I broke in here, “the idea of spoiling +such a tusk! Why, I would have kept it whole if I had been obliged to +drag it myself.” + +“Oh yes, young man,” he answered, “it is all very well for you to talk +like that, but if you had found yourself in the position which it was +my privilege to occupy a few hours afterwards, it is my belief that you +would have thrown the tusks away altogether and taken to your heels.” + +“Oh,” said Good, “so that isn’t the end of the yarn? A very good yarn, +Quatermain, by the way—I couldn’t have made up a better one myself.” + +The old gentleman looked at Good severely, for it irritated him to be +chaffed about his stories. + +“I don’t know what you mean, Good. I don’t see that there is any +comparison between a true story of adventure and the preposterous tales +which you invent about ibex hanging by their horns. No, it is not the +end of the story; the most exciting part is to come. But I have talked +enough for to-night; and if you go on in that way, Good, it will be +some time before I begin again.” + +“Sorry I spoke, I’m sure,” said Good, humbly. “Let’s have a split to +show that there is no ill-feeling.” And they did. + + + + +CHAPTER V. +THE MESSAGE OF MAIWA + + +On the following evening we once more dined together, and Quatermain, +after some pressure, was persuaded to continue his story—for Good’s +remark still rankled in his breast. + +“At last,” he went on, “a few minutes before sunset, the task was +finished. We had laboured at it all day, stopping only once for dinner, +for it is no easy matter to hew out five such tusks as those which now +lay before me in a white and gleaming line. It was a dinner worth +eating, too, I can tell you, for we dined off the heart of the great +one-tusked bull, which was so big that the man whom I sent inside the +elephant to look for his heart was forced to remove it in two pieces. +We cut it into slices and fried it with fat, and I never tasted heart +to equal it, for the meat seemed to melt in one’s mouth. By the way, I +examined the jaw of the elephant; it never grew but one tusk; the other +had not been broken off, nor was it present in a rudimentary form. + +“Well, there lay the five beauties, or rather four of them, for Gobo +and another man were engaged in sawing the grand one in two. At last +with many sighs I ordered them to do this, but not until by practical +experiment I had proved that it was impossible to carry it in any other +way. One hundred and sixty pounds of solid ivory, or rather more in its +green state, is too great a weight for two men to bear for long across +a broken country. I sat watching the job and smoking the pipe of +contentment, when suddenly the bush opened, and a very handsome and +dignified native girl, apparently about twenty years of age, stood +before me, carrying a basket of green mealies upon her head. + +“Although I was rather surprised to see a native girl in such a wild +spot, and, so far as I knew, a long way from any kraal, the matter did +not attract my particular notice; I merely called to one of the men, +and told him to bargain with the woman for the mealies, and ask her if +there were any more to be bought in the neighbourhood. Then I turned my +head and continued to superintend the cutting of the tusk. Presently a +shadow fell upon me. I looked up, and saw that the girl was standing +before me, the basket of mealies still on her head. + +“‘Marême, Marême,’ she said, gently clapping her hands together. The +word Marême among these Matuku (though she was no Matuku) answers to +the Zulu ‘Koos,’ and the clapping of hands is a form of salutation very +common among the tribes of the Basutu race. + +“‘What is it, girl?’ I asked her in Sisutu. ‘Are those mealies for +sale?’ + +“‘No, great white hunter,’ she answered in Zulu, ‘I bring them as a +gift.’ + +“‘Good,’ I replied; ‘set them down.’ + +“‘A gift for a gift, white man.’ + +“‘Ah,’ I grumbled, ‘the old story—nothing for nothing in this wicked +world. What do you want—beads?’ + +“She nodded, and I was about to tell one of the men to go and fetch +some from one of the packs, when she checked me. + +“‘A gift from the giver’s own hand is twice a gift,’ she said, and I +thought that she spoke meaningly. + +“‘You mean that you want me to give them to you myself?’ + +“‘Surely.’ + +“I rose to go with her. ‘How is it that, being of the Matuku, you speak +in the Zulu tongue?’ I asked suspiciously. + +“‘I am not of the Matuku,’ she answered as soon as we were out of +hearing of the men. ‘I am of the people of Nala, whose tribe is the +Butiana tribe, and who lives there,’ and she pointed over the mountain. +‘Also I am one of the wives of Wambe,’ and her eyes flashed as she said +the name. + +“‘And how did you come here?’ + +“‘On my feet,’ she answered laconically. + +“We reached the packs, and undoing one of them, I extracted a handful +of beads. ‘Now,’ I said, ‘a gift for a gift. Hand over the mealies.’ + +“She took the beads without even looking at them, which struck me as +curious, and setting the basket of mealies on the ground, emptied it. + +“At the bottom of the basket were some curiously-shaped green leaves, +rather like the leaves of the gutta-percha tree in shape, only somewhat +thicker and of a more fleshy substance. As though by hazard, the girl +picked one of these leaves out of the basket and smelt it. Then she +handed it to me. I took the leaf, and supposing that she wished me to +smell it also, was about to oblige her by doing so, when my eye fell +upon some curious red scratches on the green surface of the leaf. + +“‘Ah,’ said the girl (whose name, by the way, was Maiwa), speaking +beneath her breath, ‘read the signs, white man.’ + +“Without answering her I continued to stare at the leaf. It had been +scratched or rather written upon with a sharp tool, such as a nail, and +wherever this instrument had touched it, the acid juice oozing through +the outer skin had turned a rusty blood colour. Presently I found the +beginning of the scrawl, and read this in English, and covering the +surface of the leaf and of two others that were in the basket. + +“‘I hear that a white man is hunting in the Matuku country. This is to +warn him to fly over the mountain to Nala. Wambe sends an impi at +daybreak to eat him up, because he has hunted before bringing hongo. +For God’s sake, whoever you are, try to help me. I have been the slave +of this devil Wambe for nearly seven years, and am beaten and tortured +continually. He murdered all the rest of us, but kept me because I +could work iron. Maiwa, his wife, takes this; she is flying to Nala her +father because Wambe killed her child. Try to get Nala to attack Wambe; +Maiwa can guide them over the mountain. You won’t come for nothing, for +the stockade of Wambe’s private kraal is made of elephants’ tusks. For +God’s sake, don’t desert me, or I shall kill myself. I can bear this no +longer. + +“‘John Every.’ + +“‘Great heavens!’ I gasped. ‘Every!—why, it must be my old friend.’ The +girl, or rather the woman Maiwa, pointed to the other side of the leaf, +where there was more writing. It ran thus—‘I have just heard that the +white man is called Macumazahn. If so, it must be my friend Quatermain. +Pray Heaven it is, for I know he won’t desert an old chum in such a fix +as I am. It isn’t that I’m afraid of dying, I don’t care if I die, but +I want to get a chance at Wambe first.’ + +“‘No, old boy,’ thought I to myself, ‘it isn’t likely that I am going +to leave you there while there is a chance of getting you out. I have +played fox before now—there’s still a double or two left in me. I must +make a plan, that’s all. And then there’s that stockade of tusks. I am +not going to leave that either.’ Then I spoke to the woman. + +“‘You are called Maiwa?’ + +“‘It is so.’ + +“‘You are the daughter of Nala and the wife of Wambe?’ + +“‘It is so.’ + +“‘You fly from Wambe to Nala?’ + +“‘I do.’ + +“‘Why do you fly? Stay, I would give an order,’—and calling to Gobo, I +ordered him to get the men ready for instant departure. The woman, who, +as I have said, was quite young and very handsome, put her hand into a +little pouch made of antelope hide which she wore fastened round the +waist, and to my horror drew from it the withered hand of a child, +which evidently had been carefully dried in the smoke. + +“‘I fly for this cause,’ she answered, holding the poor little hand +towards me. ‘See now, I bore a child. Wambe was its father, and for +eighteen months the child lived and I loved it. But Wambe loves not his +children; he kills them all. He fears lest they should grow up to slay +one so wicked, and he would have killed this child also, but I begged +its life. One day, some soldiers passing the hut saw the child and +saluted him, calling him the “chief who soon shall be.” Wambe heard, +and was mad. He smote the babe, and it wept. Then he said that it +should weep for good cause. Among the things that he had stolen from +the white men whom he slew is a trap that will hold lions. So strong is +the trap that four men must stand on it, two on either side, before it +can be opened.’” + +Here old Quatermain broke off suddenly. + +“Look here, you fellows,” he said, “I can’t bear to go on with this +part of the story, because I never could stand either seeing or talking +of the sufferings of children. You can guess what that devil did, and +what the poor mother was forced to witness. Would you believe it, she +told me the tale without a tremor, in the most matter-of-fact way. Only +I noticed that her eyelid quivered all the time. + +“‘Well,’ I said, as unconcernedly as though I had been talking of the +death of a lamb, though inwardly I was sick with horror and boiling +with rage, ‘and what do you mean to do about the matter, Maiwa, wife of +Wambe?’ + +“‘I mean to do this, white man,’ she answered, drawing herself up to +her full height, and speaking in tones as hard as steel and cold as +ice—‘I mean to work, and work, and work, to bring this to pass, and to +bring that to pass, until at length it comes to pass that with these +living eyes I behold Wambe dying the death that he gave to his child +and my child.’ + +“‘Well said,’ I answered. + +“‘Ay, well said, Macumazahn, well said, and not easily forgotten. Who +could forget, oh, who could forget? See where this dead hand rests +against my side; so once it rested when alive. And now, though it is +dead, now every night it creeps from its nest and strokes my hair and +clasps my fingers in its tiny palm. Every night it does this, fearing +lest I should forget. Oh, my child! my child! ten days ago I held thee +to my breast, and now this alone remains of thee,’ and she kissed the +dead hand and shivered, but never a tear did she weep. + +“‘See now,’ she went on, ‘the white man, the prisoner at Wambe’s kraal, +he was kind to me. He loved the child that is dead, yes, he wept when +its father slew it, and at the risk of his life told Wambe, my +husband—ah, yes, my husband!—that which he is! He too it was who made a +plan. He said to me, “Go, Maiwa, after the custom of thy people, go +purify thyself in the bush alone, having touched a dead one. Say to +Wambe thou goest to purify thyself alone for fifteen days, according to +the custom of thy people. Then fly to thy father, Nala, and stir him up +to war against Wambe for the sake of the child that is dead.” This then +he said, and his words seemed good to me, and that same night ere I +left to purify myself came news that a white man hunted in the country, +and Wambe, being mad with drink, grew very wrath, and gave orders that +an impi should be gathered to slay the white man and his people and +seize his goods. Then did the “Smiter of Iron” (Every) write the +message on the green leaves, and bid me seek thee out, and show forth +the matter, that thou mightest save thyself by flight; and behold, this +thing have I done, Macumazahn, the hunter, the Slayer of Elephants.’ + +“‘Ah,’ I said, ‘I thank you. And how many men be there in the impi of +Wambe?’ + +“‘A hundred of men and half a hundred.’ + +“‘And where is the impi?’ + +“‘There to the north. It follows on thy spoor. I saw it pass yesterday, +but myself I guessed that thou wouldst be nigher to the mountain, and +came this way, and found thee. To-morrow at the daybreak the slayers +will be here.’ + +“‘Very possibly,’ I thought to myself; ‘but they won’t find Macumazahn. +I have half a mind to put some strychnine into the carcases of those +elephants for their especial benefit though.’ I knew that they would +stop to eat the elephants, as indeed they did, to our great gain, but I +abandoned the idea of poisoning them, because I was rather short of +strychnine.” + +“Or because you did not like to play the trick, Quatermain?” I +suggested with a laugh. + +“I said because I had not enough strychnine. It would take a great deal +of strychnine to poison three elephants effectually,” answered the old +gentleman testily. + +I said nothing further, but I smiled, knowing that old Allan could +never have resorted to such an artifice, however severe his strait. But +that was his way; he always made himself out to be a most unmerciful +person. + +“Well,” he went on, “at that moment Gobo came up and announced that we +were ready to march. ‘I am glad that you are ready,’ I said, ‘because +if you don’t march, and march quick, you will never march again, that +is all. Wambe has an impi out to kill us, and it will be here +presently.’ + +“Gobo turned positively green, and his knees knocked together. ‘Ah, +what did I say?’ he exclaimed. ‘Fate walks about loose in Wambe’s +country.’ + +“‘Very good; now all you have to do is to walk a little quicker than he +does. No, no, you don’t leave those elephant tusks behind—I am not +going to part with them I can tell you.’ + +“Gobo said no more, but hastily directed the men to take up their +loads, and then asked which way we were to run. + +“‘Ah,’ I said to Maiwa, ‘which way?’ + +“‘There,’ she answered, pointing towards the great mountain spur which +towered up into the sky some forty miles away, separating the +territories of Nala and Wambe—‘there, below that small peak, is one +place where men may pass, and one only. Also it can easily be blocked +from above. If men pass not there, then they must go round the great +peak of the mountain, two days’ journey and half a day.’ + +“‘And how far is the peak from us?’ + +“‘All to-night shall you walk and all to-morrow, and if you walk fast, +at sunset you shall stand on the peak.’ + +“I whistled, for that meant a five-and-forty miles trudge without +sleep. Then I called to the men to take each of them as much cooked +elephant’s meat as he could carry conveniently. I did the same myself, +and forced the woman Maiwa to eat some as we went. This I did with +difficulty, for at that time she seemed neither to sleep nor eat nor +rest, so fiercely was she set on vengeance. + +“Then we started, Maiwa guiding us. After going for a half-hour over +gradually rising ground, we found ourselves on the further edge of a +great bush-clad depression something like the bottom of a lake. This +depression, through which we had been travelling, was covered with bush +to a very great extent, indeed almost altogether so, except where it +was pitted with glades such as that wherein I had shot the elephants. + +“At the top of this slope Maiwa halted, and putting her hand over her +eyes looked back. Presently she touched me on the arm and pointed +across the sea of forest towards a comparatively vacant space of +country some six or seven miles away. I looked, and suddenly I saw +something flash in the red rays of the setting sun. A pause, and then +another quick flash. + +“‘What is it?’ I asked. + +“‘It is the spears of Wambe’s impi, and they travel fast,’ she answered +coolly. + +“I suppose that my face showed how little I liked the news, for she +went on— + +“‘Fear not; they will stay to feast upon the elephants, and while they +feast we shall journey. We may yet escape.’ + +“After that we turned and pushed on again, till at length it grew so +dark that we had to wait for the rising of the moon, which lost us +time, though it gave us rest. Fortunately none of the men had seen that +ominous flashing of the spears; if they had, I doubt if even I could +have kept control of them. As it was, they travelled faster than I had +ever known loaded natives to go before, so thorough-paced was their +desire to see the last of Wambe’s country. I, however, took the +precaution to march last of all, fearing lest they should throw away +their loads to lighten themselves, or, worse still, the tusks; for +these kind of fellows would be capable of throwing anything away if +their own skins were at stake. If the pious Æneas, whose story you were +reading to me the other night, had been a mongrel Delagoa Bay native, +Anchises would have had a poor chance of getting out of Troy, that is, +if he was known to have made a satisfactory will. + +“At moonrise we set out again, and with short occasional halts +travelled till dawn, when we were forced to rest and eat. Starting once +more, about half-past five, we crossed the river at noon. Then began +the long toilsome ascent through thick bush, the same in which I shot +the bull buffalo, only some twenty miles to the west of that spot, and +not more than twenty-five miles on the hither side of Wambe’s kraal. +There were six or seven miles of this dense bush, and hard work it was +to get through it. Next came a belt of scattered forest which was +easier to pass, though, in revenge, the ground was steeper. This was +about two miles wide, and we passed it by about four in the afternoon. +Above this scattered bush lay a long steep slope of boulder-strewn +ground, which ran up to the foot of the little peak some three miles +away. As we emerged, footsore and weary, on to this inhospitable plain, +some of the men looking round caught sight of the spears of Wambe’s +impi advancing rapidly not more than a mile behind us. + +“At first there was a panic, and the bearers tried to throw off their +loads and run, but I harangued them, calling out to them that certainly +I would shoot the first man who did so and that if they would but trust +in me I would bring them through the mess. Now, ever since I had killed +those three elephants single-handed, I had gained great influence over +these men, and they listened to me. So off we went as hard as ever we +could go—the members of the Alpine Club would not have been in it with +us. We made the boulders burn, as a Frenchman would say. + +“When we had done about a mile the spears began to emerge from the belt +of scattered bush, and the whoop of their bearers as they viewed us +broke upon our ears. Quick as our pace had been before, it grew much +quicker now, for terror lent wings to my gallant crew. But they were +sorely tired, and the loads were heavy, so that run, or rather climb, +as we would, Wambe’s soldiers, a scrubby-looking lot of men armed with +big spears and small shields, but without plumes, climbed considerably +faster. The last mile of that pleasing chase was like a fox hunt, we +being the fox, and always in view. What astonished me was the +extraordinary endurance and activity shown by Maiwa. She never even +flagged. I think that girl’s muscles must have been made of iron, or +perhaps it was the strength of her will that supported her. At any rate +she reached the foot of the peak second, poor Gobo, who was an +excellent hand at running away, being first. + +“Presently I came up panting, and glanced at the ascent. Before us was +a wall of rock about one hundred and fifty feet in height, upon which +the strata were laid so as to form a series of projections sufficiently +resembling steps to make the ascent easy, comparatively speaking, +except at one spot, where it was necessary to climb over a projecting +angle of cliff and bear a little to the left. It was not a really +difficult place, but what made it awkward was, that immediately beneath +this projection gaped a deep fissure or donga, on the brink of which we +now stood, originally dug out, no doubt, by the rush of water from the +peak and cliff. This gulf beneath would be trying to the nerves of a +weak-headed climber at the critical point, and so it proved in the +result. The projecting angle once passed, the remainder of the ascent +was very simple. At the summit, however, the brow of the cliff hung +over and was pierced by a single narrow path cut through it by water, +in such fashion that a single boulder rolled into it at the top would +make the cliff quite impassable to men without ropes. + +“At this moment Wambe’s soldiers were about a thousand yards from us, +so it was evident that we had no time to lose. I at once ordered the +men to commence the ascent, the girl Maiwa, who was familiar with the +pass, going first to show them the way. Accordingly they began to mount +with alacrity, pushing and lifting their loads in front of them. When +the first of them, led by Maiwa, reached the projecting angle, they put +down their loads upon a ledge of rock and clambered over. Once there, +by lying on their stomachs upon a boulder, they could reach the loads +which were held to them by the men beneath, and in this way drag them +over the awkward place, whence they were carried easily to the top. + +“But all of this took time, and meanwhile the soldiers were coming up +fast, screaming and brandishing their big spears. They were now within +about four hundred yards, and several loads, together with all the +tusks, had yet to be got over the rock. I was still standing at the +bottom of the cliff, shouting directions to the men above, but it +occurred to me that it would soon be time to move. Before doing so, +however, I thought that it might be well to try and produce a moral +effect upon the advancing enemy. In my hand I held a Winchester +repeating carbine, but the distance was too great for me to use it with +effect, so I turned to Gobo, who was shivering with terror at my side, +and handing him the carbine, took my express from him. + +“The enemy was now about three hundred and fifty yards away, and the +express was only sighted to three hundred. Still I knew that it could +be trusted for the extra fifty yards. Running in front of Wambe’s +soldiers were two men—captains, I suppose—one of them very tall. I put +up the three hundred yard flap, and sitting down with my back against +the rock, I drew a long breath to steady myself, and covered the tall +man, giving him a full sight. Feeling that I was on him, I pulled, and +before the sound of the striking bullet could reach my ears, I saw the +man throw up his arms and pitch forward on to his head. His companion +stopped dead, giving me a fair chance. I rapidly covered him, and fired +the left barrel. He turned round once, and then sank down in a heap. +This caused the enemy to hesitate—they had never seen men killed at +such a distance before, and thought that there was something uncanny +about the performance. Taking advantage of the lull, I gave the express +back to Gobo, and slinging the Winchester repeater over my back I began +to climb the cliff. + +“When we reached the projecting angle all the loads were over, but the +tusks still had to be passed up, and owing to their weight and the +smoothness of their surface, this was a very difficult task. Of course +I ought to have abandoned the tusks; often and often have I since +reproached myself for not doing so. Indeed, I think that my obstinacy +about them was downright sinful, but I was always obstinate about such +things, and I could not bear the idea of leaving those splendid tusks +which had cost me so much pains and danger to come by. Well, it nearly +cost me my life also, and did cost poor Gobo his, as will be seen +shortly, to say nothing of the loss inflicted by my rifle on the enemy. +When I reached the projection I found that the men, with their usual +stupidity, were trying to hand up the tusks point first. Now the result +of this was that those above had nothing to grip except the round +polished surface of the ivory, and in the position in which they were, +this did not give them sufficient hold to enable them to lift the +weight. I told them to reverse the tusks and push them up, so that the +rough and hollow ends came to the hands of the men above. This they +did, and the first two were dragged up in safety. + +“At this point, looking behind me, I saw the Matukus streaming up the +slope in a rough extended order, and not more than a hundred yards +away. Cocking the Winchester I turned and opened fire on them. I don’t +quite know how many I missed, but I do know that I never shot better in +my life. I had to keep shifting myself from one enemy to the other, +firing almost without getting a sight, that is, by the eye alone, after +the fashion of the experts who break glass balls. But quick as the work +was, men fell thick, and by the time that I had emptied the carbine of +its twelve cartridges, for the moment the advance was checked. I +rapidly pushed in some more cartridges, and hardly had I done so when +the enemy, seeing that we were about to escape them altogether, came on +once more with a tremendous yell. By this time the two halves of the +single tusk of the great bull alone remained to be passed up. I fired +and fired as effectively as before, but notwithstanding all that I +could do, some men escaped my hail of bullets and began to ascend the +cliff. Presently my rifle was again empty. I slung it over my back, +and, drawing my revolver, turned to run for it, the attackers being now +quite close. As I did so, a spear struck the cliff close to my head. + +“The last half of the tusk was now vanishing over the rock, and I sung +out to Gobo and the other man who had been pushing it up to vanish +after it. Gobo, poor fellow, required no second invitation; indeed, his +haste was his undoing. He went at the projecting rock with a bound. The +end of the tusk was still hanging over, and instead of grasping the +rock he caught at it. It twisted in his hand—he slipped—he fell; with +one wild shriek he vanished into the abyss beneath, his falling body +brushing me as it passed. For a moment we stood aghast, and presently +the dull thud of his fall smote heavily upon our ears. Poor fellow, he +had met the Fate which, as he declared, walked about loose in Wambe’s +country. Then with an oath the remaining man sprung at the rock and +clambered over it in safety. Aghast at the awfulness of what had +happened, I stood still, till I saw the great blade of a Matuku spear +pass up between my feet. That brought me to my senses, and I began to +clamber up the rock like a cat. I was half way round it. Already I had +clasped the hand of that brave girl Maiwa, who came down to help me, +the men having scrambled forward with the ivory, when I felt some one +seize my ankle. + +“‘Pull, Maiwa, pull,’ I gasped, and she certainly did pull. Maiwa was a +very muscular woman, and never before did I appreciate the advantages +of the physical development of females so keenly. She tugged at my left +arm, the savage below tugged at my right leg, till I began to realize +that something must give way ere long. Luckily I retained my presence +of mind, like the man who threw his mother-in-law out of the window, +and carried the mattress down-stairs, when a fire broke out in his +house. My right hand was still free, and in it I held my revolver, +which was secured to my wrist by a leather thong. The pistol was +cocked, and I simply pointed it downwards and fired. The result was +instantaneous—and so far as I am concerned, most satisfactory. The +bullet hit the man beneath me somewhere, I am sure I don’t know where; +at any rate, he let go of my leg and plunged headlong into the gulf +beneath to join Gobo. In another moment I was on the top of the rock, +and going up the remaining steps like a lamplighter. A single other +soldier appeared in pursuit, but one of my boys at the top fired my +elephant gun at him. I don’t know if he hit him or only frightened him; +at any rate, he vanished whence he came. I do know, however, that he +very nearly hit _me_, for I felt the wind of the bullet. + +“Another thirty seconds, and I and the woman Maiwa were at the top of +the cliff panting, but safe. + +“My men, being directed thereto by Maiwa, had most fortunately rolled +up some big boulders which lay about, and with these we soon managed to +block the passage through the overhanging ridge of rock in such fashion +that the soldiers below could not possibly climb over it. Indeed, so +far as I could see, they did not even try to do so—their heart was +turned to fat, as the Zulus say. + +“Then having rested a few moments we took up the loads, including the +tusks of ivory that had cost us so dear, and in silence marched on for +a couple of miles or more, till we reached a patch of dense bush. And +here, being utterly exhausted, we camped for the night, taking the +precaution, however, of setting a guard to watch against any attempt at +surprise.” + + + + +CHAPTER VI. +THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN + + +“Notwithstanding all that we had gone through, perhaps indeed on +account of it, for I was thoroughly worn out, I slept that night as +soundly as poor Gobo, round whose crushed body the hyænas would now be +prowling. Rising refreshed at dawn we went on our way towards Nala’s +kraal, which we reached at nightfall. It is built on open ground after +the Zulu fashion, in a ring fence and with beehive huts. The cattle +kraal is behind and a little to the left. Indeed, both from their +habits and their talk it was easy to see that these Butiana belong to +that section of the Bantu people which, since T’Chaka’s time, has been +known as the Zulu race. We did not see the chief Nala that night. His +daughter Maiwa went on to his private huts as soon as we arrived, and +very shortly afterwards one of his head men came to us bringing a sheep +and some mealies and milk with him. ‘The chief sent us greeting,’ he +said, ‘and would see us on the morrow.’ Meanwhile he was ordered to +bring us to a place of resting, where we and our goods should be safe +and undisturbed. Accordingly he led the way to some very good huts just +outside Nala’s private enclosure, and here we slept comfortably. + +“On the morrow about eight o’clock the head man came again, and said +that Nala requested that I would visit him. I followed him into the +private enclosure and was introduced to the chief, a fine-looking man +of about fifty, with very delicately-shaped hands and feet, and a +rather nervous mouth. The chief was seated on a tanned ox-hide outside +his hut. By his side stood his daughter Maiwa, and squatted on their +haunches round him were some twenty head men or Indunas, whose number +was continually added to by fresh arrivals. These men saluted me as I +entered, and the chief rose and took my hand, ordering a stool to be +brought for me to sit on. When this was done, with much eloquence and +native courtesy he thanked me for protecting his daughter in the +painful and dangerous circumstances in which she found herself placed, +and also complimented me very highly upon what he was pleased to call +the bravery with which I had defended the pass in the rocks. I answered +in appropriate terms, saying that it was to Maiwa herself that thanks +were due, for had it not been for her warning and knowledge of the +country we should not have been here to-day; while as to the defence of +the pass, I was fighting for my life, and that put heart into me. + +“These courtesies concluded, Nala called upon his daughter Maiwa to +tell her tale to the head men, and this she did most simply and +effectively. She reminded them that she had gone as an unwilling bride +to Wambe—that no cattle had been paid for her, because Wambe had +threatened war if she was not sent as a free gift. Since she had +entered the kraal of Wambe her days had been days of heaviness and her +nights nights of weeping. She had been beaten, she had been neglected +and made to do the work of a low-born wife—she, a chief’s daughter. She +had borne a child, and this was the story of the child. Then amidst a +dead silence she told them the awful tale which she had already +narrated to me. When she had finished, her hearers gave a loud +ejaculation. ‘_Ou!_’ they said, ‘_ou!_ Maiwa, daughter of Nala!’ + +“‘Ay,’ she went on with flashing eyes, ‘ay, it is true; my mouth is as +full of truth as a flower of honey, and for tears my eyes are like the +dew upon the grass at dawn. It is true I saw the child die—here is the +proof of it, councillors,’ and she drew forth the little dead hand and +held it before them. + +“‘_Ou!_’ they said again, ‘_ou!_ it is the dead hand!’ + +“‘Yes,’ she continued, ‘it is the dead hand of my dead child, and I +bear it with me that I may never forget, never for one short hour, that +I live that I may see Wambe die, and be avenged. Will you bear it, my +father, that your daughter and your daughter’s child should be so +treated by a Matuku? Will ye bear it, men of my own people?’ + +“‘No,’ said an old Induna, rising, ‘it is not to be borne. Enough have +we suffered at the hands of these Matuku dogs and their loud-tongued +chief; let us put it to the issue.’ + +“‘It is not to be borne indeed,’ said Nala; ‘but how can we make head +against so great a people?’ + +“‘Ask of him—ask of Macumazahn, the wise white man,’ said Maiwa, +pointing at me. + +“‘How can we overcome Wambe, Macumazahn the hunter?’ + +“‘How does the jackal overreach the lion, Nala?’ + +“‘By cleverness, Macumazahn.’ + +“‘So shall you overcome Wambe, Nala.’ + +“At this moment an interruption occurred. A man entered and said that +messengers had arrived from Wambe. + +“‘What is their message?’ asked Nala. + +“‘They come to ask that thy daughter Maiwa be sent back, and with her +the white hunter.’ + +“‘How shall I make answer to this, Macumazahn?’ said Nala, when the man +had withdrawn. + +“‘Thus shalt thou answer,’ I said after reflection; ‘say that the woman +shall be sent and I with her, and then bid the messengers be gone. +Stay, I will hide myself here in the hut that the men may not see me,’ +and I did. + +“Shortly afterwards, through a crack in the hut, I saw the messengers +arrive, and they were great truculent-looking fellows. There were four +of them, and evidently they had travelled night and day. They entered +with a swagger and squatted down before Nala. + +“‘Your business?’ said Nala, frowning. + +“‘We come from Wambe, bearing the orders of Wambe to Nala his servant,’ +answered the spokesman of the party. + +“‘Speak,’ said Nala, with a curious twitch of his nervous-looking +mouth. + +“‘These are the words of Wambe: “Send back the woman, my wife, who has +run away from my kraal, and send with her the white man who has dared +to hunt in my country without my leave, and to slay my soldiers.” These +are the words of Wambe.’ + +“‘And if I say I will not send them?’ asked Nala. + +“‘Then on behalf of Wambe we declare war upon you. Wambe will eat you +up. He will wipe you out; your kraals shall be stamped flat—so,’ and +with an expressive gesture he drew his hand across his mouth to show +how complete would be the annihilation of that chief who dared to defy +Wambe. + +“‘These are heavy words,’ said Nala. ‘Let me take counsel before I +answer.’ + +“Then followed a little piece of acting that was really very creditable +to the untutored savage mind. The heralds withdrew, but not out of +sight, and Nala went through the show of earnestly consulting his +Indunas. The girl Maiwa too flung herself at his feet, and appeared to +weep and implore his protection, while he wrung his hands as though in +doubt and tribulation of mind. At length he summoned the messengers to +draw near, and addressed them, while Maiwa sobbed very realistically at +his side. + +“‘Wambe is a great chief,’ said Nala, ‘and this woman is his wife, whom +he has a right to claim. She must return to him, but her feet are sore +with walking, she cannot come now. In eight days from this day she +shall be delivered at the kraal of Wambe; I will send her with a party +of my men. As for the white hunter and his men, I have nought to do +with them, and cannot answer for their misdeeds. They have wandered +hither unbidden by me, and I will deliver them back whence they came, +that Wambe may judge them according to his law; they shall be sent with +the girl. For you, go your ways. Food shall be given you without the +kraal, and a present for Wambe in atonement of the ill-doing of my +daughter. I have spoken.’ + +“At first the heralds seemed inclined to insist upon Maiwa’s +accompanying them then and there, but on being shown the swollen +condition of her feet, ultimately they gave up the point and departed. + +“When they were well out of the way I emerged from the hut, and we went +on to discuss the situation and make our plans. First of all, as I was +careful to explain to Nala, I was not going to give him my experience +and services for nothing. I heard that Wambe had a stockade round his +kraal made of elephant tusks. These tusks, in the event of our +succeeding in the enterprise, I should claim as my perquisite, with the +proviso that Nala should furnish me with men to carry them down to the +coast. + +“To this modest request Nala and the head men gave an unqualified and +hearty assent, the more hearty perhaps because they never expected to +get the ivory. + +“The next thing I stipulated was, that if we conquered, the white man +John Every should be handed over to me, together with any goods which +he might claim. His cruel captivity was, I need hardly say, the only +reason that induced me to join in so hair-brained an expedition, but I +was careful from motives of policy to keep this fact in the background. +Nala accepted this condition. My third stipulation was that no women or +children should be killed. This being also agreed to, we went on to +consider ways and means. Wambe, it appeared, was a very powerful petty +chief, that is, he could put at least six thousand fighting men into +the field, and always had from three to four thousand collected about +his kraal, which was supposed to be impregnable. Nala, on the contrary, +at such short notice could not collect more than from twelve to +thirteen hundred men, though, being of the Zulu stock, they were of +much better stuff for fighting purposes than Wambe’s Matukus. + +“These odds, though large, under the circumstances were not +overwhelming. The real obstacle to our chance of success was the +difficulty of delivering a crushing assault against Wambe’s strong +place. This was, it appeared, fortified all round with schanses or +stone walls, and contained numerous caves and koppies in the hill-side +and at the foot of the mountain which no force had ever been able to +capture. It is said that in the time of the Zulu monarch Dingaan, a +great impi of that king’s having penetrated to this district, had +delivered an assault upon the kraal then owned by a forefather of +Wambe’s, and been beaten back with the loss of more than a thousand +men. + +“Having thought the question over, I interrogated Maiwa closely as to +the fortifications and the topographical peculiarities of the spot, and +not without results. I discovered that the kraal was indeed impregnable +to a front attack, but that it was very slightly defended to the rear, +which ran up a slope of the mountain, indeed only by two lines of stone +walls. The reason of this was that the mountain is quite impassable +except by one secret path supposed to be known only to the chief and +his councillors, and this being so, it had not been considered +necessary to fortify it. + +“‘Well,’ I said, when she had done, ‘and now as to this secret path of +thine—knowest thou aught of it?’ + +“‘Ay,’ she answered, ‘I am no fool, Macumazahn. Knowledge learned is +power earned. I won the secret of that path.’ + +“‘And canst thou guide an impi thereon so that it shall fall upon the +town from behind?’ + +“‘Yes, I can do this, if only Wambe’s people know not that the impi +comes, for if they know, then they can block the way.’ + +“‘So then here is my plan. Listen, Nala, and say if it be good, or if +thou hast a better, show it forth. Let messengers go out and summon all +thy impi, that it be gathered here on the third day from now. This +being done, let the impi, led by Maiwa, march on the morrow of the +fourth day, and crossing the mountains let it travel along on the other +side of the mountains till it come to the place on the further side of +which is the kraal of Wambe; that shall be some three days’ journey in +all.[*] Then on the night of the third day’s journey, let Maiwa lead +the impi in silence up the secret path, so that it comes to the crest +of the mountain that is above the strong place, and here let it hide +among the rocks. + +[*] About one hundred and twenty miles.—Editor. + + +“‘Meanwhile on the sixth day from now let one of thy Indunas, Nala, +bring with him two hundred men that have guns, and lead me and my men +as prisoners, and take also a girl from among the Butiana people, who +by form and face is like unto Maiwa, and bind her hands, and pass by +the road on which we came and through the cutting in the cliff on to +the kraal of Wambe. But the men shall take no shields or plumes with +them, only their guns and one short spear, and when they meet the +people of Wambe they shall say that they come to give up the woman and +the white man and his party to Wambe, and to make atonement to Wambe. +So shall they pass in peace. And travelling thus, on the evening of the +seventh day we shall come to the gates of the place of Wambe, and nigh +the gates there is, so says Maiwa, a koppie very strong and full of +rocks and caves, but having no soldiers on it except in time of war, or +at the worst but a few such as can easily be overpowered. + +“‘This being done, at the dawn of day the impi on the mountain behind +the town must light a fire and put wet grass on it, so that the smoke +goes up. Then at the sight of the smoke we in the koppie will begin to +shoot into the town of Wambe, and all the soldiers will run to kill us. +But we will hold our own, and while we fight the impi shall charge down +the mountain side and climb the schanses, and put those who defend them +to the assegai, and then falling upon the town shall surprise it, and +drive the soldiers of Wambe as a wind blows the dead husks of corn. +This is my plan. I have spoken.’ + +“‘_Ou!_’ said Nala, ‘it is good, it is very good. The white man is +cleverer than a jackal. Yes, so shall it be; and may the snake of the +Butiana people stand up upon its tail and prosper the war, for so shall +we be rid of Wambe and the tyrannies of Wambe.’ + +“After that the girl Maiwa stood up, and once more producing the +dreadful little dried hand, made her father and several of his head +councillors swear by it and upon it that they would carry out the war +of vengeance to the bitter end. It was a very curious sight to see. And +by the way, the fight that ensued was thereafter known among the tribes +of that district as the War of the Little Hand. + +“The next two days were busy ones for us. Messengers were sent out, and +every available man of the Butiana tribe was ordered up to ‘a great +dance.’ The country was small, and by the evening of the second day, +some twelve hundred and fifty men were assembled with their assegais +and shields, and a fine hardy troop they were. At dawn of the following +day, the fourth from the departure of the heralds, the main impi, +having been doctored in the usual fashion, started under the command of +Nala himself, who, knowing that his life and chieftainship hung upon +the issue of the struggle, wisely determined to be present to direct +it. With them went Maiwa, who was to guide them up the secret path. Of +course we were obliged to give them two days’ start, as they had more +than a hundred miles of rough country to pass, including the crossing +of the great mountain range which ran north and south, for it was +necessary that the impi should make a wide détour in order to escape +detection. + +“At length, however, at dawn on the sixth day, I took the road, +accompanied by my most unwilling bearers, who did not at all like the +idea of thus putting their heads into the lion’s mouth. Indeed, it was +only the fear of Nala’s spears, together with a vague confidence in +myself, that induced them to accept the adventure. With me also were +about two hundred Butianas, all armed with guns of various kinds, for +many of these people had guns, though they were not very proficient in +the use of them. But they carried no shields and wore no head-dress or +armlets; indeed, every warlike appearance was carefully avoided. With +our party went also a sister of Maiwa’s, though by a different mother, +who strongly resembled her in face and form, and whose mission it was +to impersonate the runaway wife. + +“That evening we camped upon the top of the cliff up which we had so +barely escaped, and next morning at the first breaking of the light we +rolled away the stones with which we had blocked the passage some days +before, and descended to the hill-side beneath. Here the bodies, or +rather the skeletons of the men who had fallen before my rifle, still +lay about. The Matuku soldiers had left their comrades to be buried by +the vultures. I descended the gully into which poor Gobo had fallen, +and searched for his body, but in vain, although I found the spot where +he and the other man had struck, together with the bones of the latter, +which I recognized by the waist-cloth. Either some beast of prey had +carried Gobo off, or the Matuku people had disposed of his remains, and +also of my express rifle which he carried. At any rate, I never saw or +heard any more of him. + +“Once in Wambe’s country, we adopted a very circumspect method of +proceeding. About fifty men marched ahead in loose order to guard +against surprise, while as many more followed behind. The remaining +hundred were gathered in a bunch between, and in the centre of these +men I marched, together with the girl who was personating Maiwa, and +all my bearers. We were disarmed, and some of my men were tied together +to show that we were prisoners, while the girl had a blanket thrown +over her head, and moved along with an air of great dejection. We +headed straight for Wambe’s place, which was at a distance of about +twenty-five miles from the mountain-pass. + +“When we had gone some five miles we met a party of about fifty of +Wambe’s soldiers, who were evidently on the look-out for us. They +stopped us, and their captain asked where we were going. The head man +of our party answered that he was conveying Maiwa, Wambe’s runaway +wife, together with the white hunter and his men, to be given up to +Wambe in accordance with his command. The captain then wanted to know +why we were so many, to which our spokesman replied that I and my men +were very desperate fellows, and that it was feared that if we were +sent with a smaller escort we should escape, and bring disgrace and the +wrath of Wambe upon their tribe. Thereon this gentleman, the Matuku +captain, began to amuse himself at my expense, and mock me, saying that +Wambe would make me pay for the soldiers whom I had killed. He would +put me into the ‘Thing that bites,’ in other words, the lion trap, and +leave me there to die like a jackal caught by the leg. I made no answer +to this, though my wrath was great, but pretended to look frightened. +Indeed there was not much pretence about it, I was frightened. I could +not conceal from myself that ours was a most hazardous enterprise, and +that it was very possible that I might make acquaintance with that lion +trap before I was many days older. However, it seemed quite impossible +to desert poor Every in his misfortune, so I had to go on, and trust to +Providence, as I have so often been obliged to do before and since. + +“And now a fresh difficulty arose. Wambe’s soldiers insisted upon +accompanying us, and what is more, did all they could to urge us +forward, as they were naturally anxious to get to the chief’s place +before evening. But we, on the other hand, had excellent reasons for +not arriving till night was closing in, since we relied upon the gloom +to cover our advance upon the koppie which commanded the town. Finally, +they became so importunate that we were obliged to refuse flatly to +move faster, alleging as a reason that the girl was tired. They did not +accept this excuse in good part, and at one time I thought that we +should have come to blows, for there is no love lost between Butianas +and Matukus. At last, however, either from motives of policy, or +because they were so evidently outnumbered, they gave in and suffered +us to go our own pace. I earnestly wished that they would have added to +the obligation by going theirs, but this they declined absolutely to +do. On the contrary, they accompanied us every foot of the way, keeping +up a running fire of allusions to the ‘Thing that bites’ that jarred +upon my nerves and discomposed my temper. + +“About half-past four in the afternoon we came to a neck or ridge of +stony ground, whence we could see Wambe’s town plainly lying some six +or seven miles away, and three thousand feet beneath us. The town is +built in a valley, with the exception of Wambe’s own kraal, that is +situated at the mouth of some caves upon the slope of the opposing +mountains, over which I hoped to see our impi’s spears flashing in the +morrow’s light. Even from where we stood, it was easy to see how +strongly the place was fortified with schanses and stone walls, and how +difficult of approach. Indeed, unless taken by surprise, it seemed to +me quite impregnable to a force operating without cannon, and even +cannon would not make much impression on rocks and stony koppies filled +with caves. + +“Then came the descent of the pass, and an arduous business it was, for +the path—if it may be called a path—is almost entirely composed of huge +water-worn boulders, from the one to the other of which we must jump +like so many grasshoppers. It took us two hours to climb down, and, +travelling through that burning sun, when at last we did reach the +bottom, I for one was nearly played out. Shortly afterwards, just as it +was growing dark, we came to the first line of fortifications, which +consisted of a triple stone wall pierced by a gateway, so narrow that a +man could hardly squeeze through it. We passed this without question, +being accompanied by Wambe’s soldiers. Then came a belt of land three +hundred paces or more in width, very rocky and broken, and having no +huts upon it. Here in hollows in this belt the cattle were kraaled in +case of danger. On the further side were more fortifications and +another small gateway shaped like a V, and just beyond and through it I +saw the koppie we had planned to seize looming up against the line of +mountains behind. + +“As we went I whispered my suggestions to our captain, with the result +that at the second gateway he halted the cavalcade, and addressing the +captain of Wambe’s soldiers, said that we would wait here till we +received Wambe’s word to enter the town. The other man said that this +was well, only he must hand over the prisoners to be taken up to the +chief’s kraal, for Wambe, was ‘hungry to begin upon them,’ and his +‘heart desired to see the white man at rest before he closed his eyes +in sleep,’ and as for his wife, ‘surely he would welcome her.’ Our +leader replied that he could not do this thing, because his orders were +to deliver the prisoners to Wambe at Wambe’s own kraal, and they might +not be broken. How could he be responsible for the safety of the +prisoners if he let them out of his hand? No, they would wait there +till Wambe’s word was brought. + +“To this, after some demur, the other man consented, and went away, +remarking that he would soon be back. As he passed me he called out +with a sneer, pointing as he did so to the fading red in the western +sky—‘Look your last upon the light, White Man, for the “Thing that +bites” lives in the dark.’ + +“Next day it so happened that I shot this man, and, do you know, I +think that he is about the only human being who has come to harm at my +hands for whom I do not feel sincere sorrow and, in a degree, remorse.” + + + + +CHAPTER VII. +THE ATTACK + + +“Just where we halted ran a little stream of water. I looked at it, and +an idea struck me: probably there would be no water on the koppie. I +suggested this to our captain, and, acting on the hint, he directed all +the men to drink what they could, and also to fill the seven or eight +cooking pots which we carried with us with water. Then came the crucial +moment. How were we to get possession of the koppie? When the captain +asked me, I said that I thought that we had better march up and take +it, and this accordingly we went on to do. When we came to the narrow +gateway we were, as I expected, stopped by two soldiers who stood on +guard there and asked our business. The captain answered that we had +changed our minds, and would follow on to Wambe’s kraal. The soldiers +said no, we must now wait. + +“To this we replied by pushing them to one side and marching in single +file through the gateway, which was not distant more than a hundred +yards from the koppie. While we were getting through, the men we had +pushed away ran towards the town calling for assistance, a call that +was promptly responded to, for in another minute we saw scores of armed +men running hard in our direction. So we ran too, for the koppie. As +soon as they understood what we were after, which they did not at +first, owing to the dimness of the light, they did their best to get +there before us. But we had the start of them, and with the exception +of one unfortunate man who stumbled and fell, we were well on to the +koppie before they arrived. This man they captured, and when fighting +began on the following morning, and he refused to give any information, +they killed him. Luckily they had no time to torture him, or they would +certainly have done so, for these Matuku people are very fond of +torturing their enemies. + +“When we reached the koppie, the base of which covers about half an +acre of ground, the soldiers who had been trying to cut us off halted, +for they knew the strength of the position. This gave us a few minutes +before the light had quite vanished to reconnoitre the place. We found +that it was unoccupied, fortified with a regular labyrinth of stone +walls, and contained three large caves and some smaller ones. The next +business was to post the soldiers to such advantage as time would +allow. My own men I was careful to place quite at the top. They were +perfectly useless from terror, and I feared that they might try to +escape and give information of our plans to Wambe. So I watched them +like the apple of my eye, telling them that should they dare to stir +they would be shot. + +“Then it grew quite dark, and presently out of the darkness I heard a +voice—it was that of the leader of the soldiers who had escorted +us—calling us to come down. We replied that it was too dark to move, we +should hit our feet against the stones. He insisted upon our +descending, and we flatly refused, saying that if any attempt was made +to dislodge us we would fire. After that, as they had no real intention +of attacking us in the dark, the men withdrew, but we saw from the +fires which were lit around that they were keeping a strict watch upon +our position. + +“That night was a wearing one, for we never quite knew how the +situation was going to develop. Fortunately we had some cooked food +with us, so we did not starve. It was lucky, however, that we drunk our +fill before coming up, for, as I had anticipated, there was not a drop +of water on the koppie. + +“At length the night wore away, and with the first tinge of light I +began to go my rounds, and stumbling along the stony paths, to make +things as ready as I could for the attack, which I felt sure would be +delivered before we were two hours older. The men were cramped and +cold, and consequently low-spirited, but I exhorted them to the best of +my ability, bidding them remember the race from which they sprang, and +not to show the white feather before a crowd of Matuku dogs. At length +it began to grow light, and presently I saw long columns of men +advancing towards the koppie. They halted under cover at a distance of +about a hundred and fifty yards, and just as the dawn broke a herald +came forward and called to us. Our captain stood up upon a rock and +answered him. + +“‘These are the words of Wambe,’ the herald said. ‘Come forth from the +koppie, and give over the evil-doers, and go in peace, or stay in the +koppie and be slain.’ + +“‘It is too early to come out as yet,’ answered our man in fine +diplomatic style. ‘When the sun sucks up the mist then we will come +out. Our limbs are stiff with cold.’ + +“‘Come forth even now,’ said the herald. + +“‘Not if I know it, my boy,’ said I to myself; but the captain replied +that he would come out when he thought proper, and not before. + +“‘Then make ready to die,’ said the herald, for all the world like the +villain of a transpontine piece, and majestically stalked back to the +soldiers. + +“I made my final arrangements, and looked anxiously at the mountain +crest a couple of miles or so away, from which the mist was now +beginning to lift, but no column of smoke could I see. I whistled, for +if the attacking force had been delayed or made any mistake, our +position was likely to grow rather warm. We had barely enough water to +wet the mouths of the men, and when once it was finished we could not +hold the place for long in that burning heat. + +“At length, just as the sun rose in glory over the heights behind us, +the Matuku soldiers, of whom about fifteen hundred were now assembled, +set up a queer whistling noise, which ended in a chant. Then some shots +were fired, for the Matuku had a few guns, but without effect, though +one bullet passed just by a man’s head. + +“‘Now they are going to begin,’ I thought to myself, and I was not far +wrong, for in another minute the body of men divided into three +companies, each about five hundred strong, and, heralded by a running +fire, charged at us on three sides. Our men were now all well under +cover, and the fire did us no harm. I mounted on a rock so as to +command a view of as much of the koppie and plain as possible, and +yelled to our men to reserve their fire till I gave the word, and then +to shoot low and load as quickly as possible. I knew that, like all +natives, they were sure to be execrable shots, and that they were armed +with weapons made out of old gas-pipes, so the only chance of doing +execution was to let the enemy get right on to us. + +“On they came with a rush; they were within eighty yards now, and as +they drew near the point of attack, I observed that they closed their +ranks, which was so much the better for us. + +“‘Shall we not fire, my father?’ sung out the captain. + +“‘No, confound you!’ I answered. + +“‘Sixty yards—fifty—forty—thirty. Fire, you scoundrels!’ I yelled, +setting the example by letting off both barrels of my elephant gun into +the thickest part of the company opposite to me. + +“Instantly the place rang out with the discharge of two hundred and odd +guns, while the air was torn by the passage of every sort of missile, +from iron pot legs down to slugs and pebbles coated with lead. The +result was very prompt. The Matukus were so near that we could not miss +them, and at thirty yards a lead-coated stone out of a gas-pipe is as +effective as a Martini rifle, or more so. Over rolled the attacking +soldiers by the dozen, while the survivors, fairly frightened, took to +their heels. We plied them with shot till they were out of range—I made +it very warm for them with the elephant gun, by the way—and then we +loaded up in quite a cheerful frame of mind, for we had not lost a man, +whereas I could count more than fifty dead and wounded Matukus. The +only thing that damped my ardour was that, stare as I would, I could +see no column of smoke upon the mountain crest. + +“Half an hour elapsed before any further steps were taken against us. +Then the attacking force adopted different tactics. Seeing that it was +very risky to try to rush us in dense masses, they opened out into +skirmishing order and ran across the open space in lots of five and +six. As it happened, right at the foot of the koppie the ground broke +away a little in such fashion that it was almost impossible for us to +search it effectually with our fire. On the hither side of this dip +Wambe’s soldiers were now congregating in considerable numbers. Of +course we did them as much damage as we could while they were running +across, but this sort of work requires good shots, and that was just +what we had not got. Another thing was, that so many of our men would +insist upon letting off the things they called guns at every little +knot of the enemy that ran across. Thus, the first few lots were indeed +practically swept away, but after that, as it took a long while to load +the gas-pipes and old flint muskets, those who followed got across in +comparative safety. For my own part, I fired away with the elephant gun +and repeating carbine till they grew almost too hot to hold, but my +individual efforts could do nothing to stop such a rush, or perceptibly +to lessen the number of our enemies. + +“At length there were at least a thousand men crowded into the dip of +ground within a few yards of us, whence those of them who had guns kept +up a continued fusillade upon the koppie. They killed two of my bearers +in this way, and wounded a third, for being at the top of the koppie +these men were most exposed to the fire from the dip at its base. +Seeing that the situation was growing most serious, at length, by the +dint of threats and entreaties, I persuaded the majority of our people +to cease firing useless shots, to reload, and prepare for the rush. +Scarcely had I done so when the enemy came for us with a roar. I am +bound to say that I should never have believed that Matukus had it in +them to make such a determined charge. A large party rushed round the +base of the koppie, and attacked us in flank, while the others swarmed +wherever they could get a foothold, so that we were taken on every +side. + +“‘_Fire!_’ I cried, and we did with terrible effect. Many of their men +fell, but though we checked we could not stop them. They closed up and +rushed the first fortification, killing a good number of its defenders. +It was almost all cold steel work now, for we had no time to reload, +and that suited the Butiana habits of fighting well enough, for the +stabbing assegai is a weapon which they understand. Those of our people +who escaped from the first line of walls took refuge in the second, +where I stood myself, encouraging them, and there the fight raged +fiercely. Occasionally parties of the enemy would force a passage, only +to perish on the hither side beneath the Butiana spears. But still they +kept it up, and I saw that, fight as we would, we were doomed. We were +altogether outnumbered, and to make matters worse, fresh bodies of +soldiers were pouring across the plain to the assistance of our +assailants. So I made up my mind to direct a retreat into the caves, +and there expire in a manner as heroic as circumstances would allow; +and while mentally lamenting my hard fate and reflecting on my sins I +fought away like a fiend. It was then, I remember, that I shot my +friend the captain of our escort of the previous day. He had caught +sight of me, and making a vicious dig at my stomach with a spear (which +I successfully dodged), shouted out, or rather began to shout out, one +of his unpleasant allusions to the ‘Thing that——’ He never got as far +as ‘bites,’ because I shot him after ‘that.’ + +“Well, the game was about up. Already I saw one man throw down his +spear in token of surrender—which act of cowardice cost him his life, +by the way—when suddenly a shout arose. + +“‘Look at the mountain,’ they cried; ‘there is an impi on the mountain +side.’ + +“I glanced up, and there sure enough, about half-way down the mountain, +nearing the first fortification, the long-plumed double line of Nala’s +warriors was rushing down to battle, the bright light of the morning +glancing on their spears. Afterwards we discovered that the reason of +their delay was that they had been stopped by a river in flood, and +could not reach the mountain crest by dawn. When they did reach it, +however, they saw instantly that the fight was already going on, was +‘in flower,’ as they put it, and so advanced at once without waiting to +light signal-fires. + +“Meanwhile they had been observed from the town, and parties of +soldiers were charging up the steep side of the hill, to occupy the +schanses, and the second line of fortifications behind them. The first +line they did not now attempt to reach or defend; Nala pressed them too +close. But they got to the schanses or pits protected with stone walls, +and constructed to hold from a dozen to twenty men, and soon began to +open fire from them, and from isolated rocks. I turned my eyes to the +gates of the town, which were placed to the north and south. Already +they were crowded with hundreds of fugitive women and children flying +to the rocks and caves for shelter from the foe. + +“As for ourselves, the appearance of Nala’s impi produced a wonderful +change for the better in our position. The soldiers attacking us +turned, realizing that the town was being assailed from the rear, and +clambering down the koppie streamed off to protect their homes against +this new enemy. In five minutes there was not a man left except those +who would move no more, or were too sorely wounded to escape. I felt +inclined to ejaculate ‘_Saved!_’ like the gentleman in the play, but +did not because the occasion was too serious. What I did do was to +muster all the men and reckon up our losses. They amounted to fifty-one +killed and wounded, sixteen men having been killed outright. Then I +sent men with the cooking-pots to the stream of water, and we drank. +This done I set my bearers, being the most useless part of the +community, from a fighting point of view, to the task of attending the +injured, and turned to watch the fray. + +“By this time Nala’s impi had climbed the first line of fortifications +without opposition, and was advancing in a long line upon the schanses +or pits which were scattered about between it and the second line, +singing a war chant as it came. Presently puffs of smoke began to start +from the schanses, and with my glasses I could see several of our men +falling over. Then as they came opposite a schanse that portion of the +long line of warriors would thicken up and charge it with a wild rush. +I could see them leap on to the walls and vanish into the depths +beneath, some of their number falling backward on each occasion, shot +or stabbed to death. + +“Next would come another act in the tragedy. Out from the hither side +of the schanse would pour such of its defenders as were left alive, +perhaps three or four and perhaps a dozen, running for dear life, with +the war dogs on their tracks. One by one they would be caught, then up +flashed the great spear and down fell the pursued—dead. I saw ten of +our men leap into one large schanse, but though I watched for some time +nobody came out. Afterwards we inspected the place and found these men +all dead, together with twenty-three Matukus. Neither side would give +in, and they had fought it out to the bitter end. + +“At last they neared the second line of fortifications, behind which +the whole remaining Matuku force, numbering some two thousand men, was +rapidly assembling. One little pause to get their breath, and Nala’s +men came at it with a rush and a long wild shout of ‘_Bulala Matuku_’ +(kill the Matuku) that went right through me, thrilling every nerve. +Then came an answering shout, and the sounds of heavy firing, and +presently I saw our men retreating, somewhat fewer in numbers than they +had advanced. Their welcome had been a warm one for the Matuku fight +splendidly behind walls. This decided me that it was necessary to +create a diversion; if we did not do so it seemed very probable that we +should be worsted after all. I called to the captain of our little +force, and rapidly put the position before him. + +“Seeing the urgency of the occasion, he agreed with me that we must +risk it, and in two minutes more, with the exception of my own men, +whom I left to guard the wounded, we were trotting across the open +space and through the deserted town towards the spot where the struggle +was taking place, some seven hundred yards away. In six or eight +minutes we reached a group of huts—it was a head man’s kraal, that was +situated about a hundred and twenty yards behind the fortified wall, +and took possession of it unobserved. The enemy was too much engaged +with the foe in front of him to notice us, and besides, the broken +ground rose in a hog-back shape between. There we waited a minute or +two and recovered our breath, while I gave my directions. So soon as we +heard the Butiana impi begin to charge again, we were to run out in a +line to the brow of the hogback and pour our fire into the mass of +defenders behind the wall. Then the guns were to be thrown down and we +must charge with the assegai. We had no shields, but that could not be +helped; there would be no time to reload the guns, and it was +absolutely necessary that the enemy should be disconcerted at the +moment when the main attack was delivered. + +“The men, who were as plucky a set of fellows as ever I saw, and whose +blood was now thoroughly up, consented to this scheme, though I could +see that they thought it rather a large order, as indeed I did myself. +But I knew that if the impi was driven back a second time the game +would be played, and for me at any rate it would be a case of the +‘Thing that bites,’ and this sure and certain knowledge filled my +breast with valour. + +“We had not long to wait. Presently we heard the Butiana war-song +swelling loud and long; they had commenced their attack. I made a sign, +and the hundred and fifty men, headed by myself, poured out of the +kraal, and getting into a rough line ran up the fifty or sixty yards of +slope that intervened between ourselves and the crest of the hog-backed +ridge. In thirty seconds we were there, and immediately beyond us was +the main body of the Matuku host waiting the onslaught of the enemy +with guns and spears. Even now they did not see us, so intent were they +upon the coming attack. I signed to my men to take careful aim, and +suddenly called out to them to fire, which they did with a will, +dropping thirty or forty Matukus. + +“‘_Charge!_’ I shouted, again throwing down my smoking rifle and +drawing my revolver, an example which they followed, snatching up their +spears from the ground where they had placed them while they fired. The +men set up a savage whoop, and we started. I saw the Matuku soldiers +wheel around in hundreds, utterly taken aback at this new development +of the situation. And looking over them, before we had gone twenty +yards I saw something else. For of a sudden, as though they had risen +from the earth, there appeared above the wall hundreds of great spears, +followed by hundreds of savage faces shadowed with drooping plumes. +With a yell they sprang upon the wall shaking their broad shields, and +with a yell they bounded from it straight into our astonished foes. + +“_Crash!_ we were in them now, and fighting like demons. _Crash!_ from +the other side. Nala’s impi was at its work, and still the spears and +plumes appeared for a moment against the brown background of the +mountain, and then sprang down and rushed like a storm upon the foe. +The great mob of men turned this way and turned that way, astonished, +bewildered, overborne by doubt and terror. + +“Meanwhile the slayers stayed not their hands, and on every side spears +flashed, and the fierce shout of triumph went up to heaven. There too +on the wall stood Maiwa, a white garment streaming from her shoulders, +an assegai in her hand, her breast heaving, her eyes flashing. Above +all the din of battle I could catch the tones of her clear voice as she +urged the soldiers on to victory. But victory was not yet. Wambe’s +soldiers gathered themselves together, and bore our men back by the +sheer weight of numbers. They began to give, then once more they +rallied, and the fight hung doubtfully. + +“‘Slay, you war-whelps,’ cried Maiwa from the wall. ‘Are you afraid, +you women, you chicken-hearted women! Strike home, or die like dogs! +What—you give way! Follow me, children of Nala.’ And with one long cry +she leapt from the wall as leaps a stricken antelope, and holding the +spear poised rushed right into the thickest of the fray. The warriors +saw her, and raised such a shout that it echoed like thunder against +the mountains. They massed together, and following the flutter of her +white robe crashed into the dense heart of the foe. Down went the +Matuku before them like trees before a whirlwind. Nothing could stand +in the face of such a rush as that. It was as the rush of a torrent +bursting its banks. All along their line swept the wild desperate +charge; and there, straight in the forefront of the battle, still waved +the white robe of Maiwa. + +“Then they broke, and, stricken with utter panic, Wambe’s soldiers +streamed away a scattered crowd of fugitives, while after them +thundered the footfall of the victors. + +“The fight was over, we had won the day; and for my part I sat down +upon a stone and wiped my forehead, thanking Providence that I had +lived to see the end of it. Twenty minutes later Nala’s warriors began +to return panting. ‘Wambe’s soldiers had taken to the bush and the +caves,’ they said, ‘where they had not thought it safe to follow them,’ +adding significantly, that many had stopped on the way. + +“I was utterly dazed, and now that the fight was over my energy seemed +to have left me, and I did not pay much attention, till presently I was +aroused by somebody calling me by my name. I looked up, and saw that it +was the chief Nala himself, who was bleeding from a flesh wound in his +arm. By his side stood Maiwa panting, but unhurt, and wearing on her +face a proud and terrifying air. + +“‘They are gone, Macumazahn,’ said the chief; ‘there is little to fear +from them, their heart is broken. But where is Wambe the chief?—and +where is the white man thou camest to save?’ + +“‘I know not,’ I answered. + +“Close to where we stood lay a Matuku, a young man who had been shot +through the fleshy part of the calf. It was a trifling wound, but it +prevented him from running away. + +“‘Say, thou dog,’ said Nala, stalking up to him and shaking his red +spear in his face, ‘say, where is Wambe? Speak, or I slay thee. Was he +with the soldiers?’ + +“‘Nay, lord, I know not,’ groaned the terrified man, ‘he fought not +with us; Wambe has no stomach for fighting. Perchance he is in his +kraal yonder, or in the cave behind the kraal,’ and he pointed to a +small enclosure on the hillside, about four hundred yards to the right +of where we were. + +“‘Let us go and see,’ said Nala, summoning his soldiers.” + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. +MAIWA IS AVENGED + + +“The impi formed up; alas, an hour before it had been stronger by a +third than it was now. Then Nala detached two hundred men to collect +and attend to the injured, and at my suggestion issued a stringent +order that none of the enemy’s wounded, and above all no women or +children, were to be killed, as is the savage custom among African +natives. On the contrary, they were to be allowed to send word to their +women that they might come in to nurse them and fear nothing, for Nala +made war upon Wambe the tyrant, and not on the Matuku tribe. + +“Then we started with some four hundred men for the chief’s kraal. Very +soon we were there. It was, as I have said, placed against the mountain +side, but within the fortified lines, and did not at all cover more +than an acre and a half of ground. Outside was a tiny reed fence, +within which, neatly arranged in a semi-circular line, stood the huts +of the chief’s principal wives. Maiwa of course knew every inch of the +kraal, for she had lived in it, and led us straight to the entrance. We +peeped through the gateway—not a soul was to be seen. There were the +huts and there was the clear open space floored with a concrete of +lime, on which the sun beat fiercely, but nobody could we see or hear. + +“‘The jackal has gone to earth,’ said Maiwa; ‘he will be in the cave +behind his hut,’ and she pointed with her spear towards another small +and semi-circular enclosure, over which a large hut was visible, that +had the cliff itself for a background. I stared at this fence; by +George! it was true, it was entirely made of tusks of ivory planted in +the ground with their points bending outwards. The smallest ones, +though none were small, were placed nearest to the cliff on either +side, but they gradually increased in size till they culminated in two +enormous tusks, which, set up so that their points met, something in +the shape of an inverted V, formed the gateway to the hut. I was +dumbfoundered with delight; and indeed, where is the elephant-hunter +who would not be, if he suddenly saw five or six hundred picked tusks +set up in a row, and only waiting for him to take them away? Of course +the stuff was what is known as ‘black’ ivory; that is, the exterior of +the tusks had become black from years or perhaps centuries of exposure +to wind and weather, but I was certain that it would be none the worse +for that. Forgetting the danger of the deed, in my excitement I +actually ran right across the open space, and drawing my knife +scratched vigorously at one of the great tusks to see how deep the +damage might be. As I thought, it was nothing; there beneath the black +covering gleamed the pure white ivory. I could have capered for joy, +for I fear that I am very mercenary at heart, when suddenly I heard the +faint echo of a cry for assistance. ‘Help!’ screamed a voice in the +Sisutu dialect from somewhere behind the hut; ‘help! they are murdering +me.’ + +“_I knew the voice_; it was John Every’s. Oh, what a selfish brute was +I! For the moment that miserable ivory had driven the recollection of +him out of my head, and now—perhaps it was too late. + +“Nala, Maiwa, and the soldiers had now come up. They too heard the +voice and interpreted its tone, though they had not caught the words. + +“‘This way,’ cried Maiwa, and we started at a run, passing round the +hut of Wambe. Behind was the narrow entrance to a cave. We rushed +through it heedless of the danger of the ambush, and this is what we +saw, though very confusedly at first, owing to the gloom. + +“In the centre of the cave, and with either end secured to the floor by +strong stakes, stood a huge double-springed lion trap edged with sharp +and grinning teeth. It was set, and beyond the trap, indeed almost over +it, a terrible struggle was in progress. A naked or almost naked white +man, with a great beard hanging down over his breast, in spite of his +furious struggles, was being slowly forced and dragged towards the trap +by six or eight women. Only one man was present, a fat, cruel-looking +man with small eyes and a hanging lip. It was the chief Wambe, and he +stood by the trap ready to force the victim down upon it so soon as the +women had dragged him into the necessary position. + +“At this instant they caught sight of us, and there came a moment’s +pause, and then, before I knew what she was going to do, Maiwa lifted +the assegai she still held, and whirled it at Wambe’s head. I saw the +flash of light speed towards him, and so did he, for he stepped +backward to avoid it—stepped backward right into the trap. He yelled +with pain as the iron teeth of the ‘Thing that bites’ sprang up with a +rattling sound like living fangs and fastened into him—such a yell I +have not often heard. Now at last he tasted of the torture which he had +inflicted upon so many, and though I trust I am a Christian, I cannot +say that I felt sorry for him. + +“The assegai sped on and struck one of the women who had hold of the +unfortunate Every, piercing through her arm. This made her leave go, an +example that the other women quickly followed, so that Every fell to +the ground, where he lay gasping. + +“‘Kill the witches,’ roared Nala, in a voice of thunder, pointing to +the group of women. + +“‘Nay,’ gasped Every, ‘spare them. He made them do it,’ and he pointed +to the human fiend in the trap. Then Maiwa waved her hand to us to fall +back, for the moment of her vengeance was come. We did so, and she +strode up to her lord, and flinging the white robe from her stood +before him, her fierce beautiful face fixed like stone. + +“‘Who am I?’ she cried in so terrible a voice that he ceased his yells. +‘Am I that woman who was given to thee for wife, and whose child thou +slewest? Or am I an avenging spirit come to see thee die? + +“‘What is this?’ she went on, drawing the withered baby-hand from the +pouch at her side. + +“‘Is it the hand of a babe? and how came that hand to be thus alone? +What cut it off from the babe? and where is the babe? Is it a hand? or +is it the vision of a hand that shall presently tear thy throat? + +“‘Where are thy soldiers, Wambe? Do they sleep and eat and go forth to +do thy bidding? or are they perchance dead and scattered like the +winter leaves?’ + +“He groaned and rolled his eyes while the fierce-faced woman went on. + +“‘Art thou still a chief, Wambe? or does another take thy place and +power, and say, Lord, what doest thou there? and what is that slave’s +leglet upon thy knee? + +“‘Is it a dream, Wambe, great lord and chief? or’—and she lifted her +clenched hands and shook them in his face—‘hath a woman’s vengeance +found thee out and a woman’s wit o’ermatched thy tyrannous strength? +and art thou about to slowly die in torments horrible to think on, oh, +thou accursed murderer of little children?’ + +“And with one wild scream she dashed the dead hand of the child +straight into his face, and then fell senseless on the floor. As for +the demon in the trap, he shrank back so far as its iron bounds would +allow, his yellow eyes starting out of his head with pain and terror, +and then once more began to yell. + +“The scene was more than I could bear. + +“‘Nala,’ I said, ‘this must stop. That man is a fiend, but he must not +be left to die there. See thou to it.’ + +“‘Nay,” answered Nala, ‘let him taste of the food wherewith he hath fed +so many; leave him till death shall find him.’ + +“‘That I will not,’ I answered. ‘Let his end be swift; see thou to it.’ + +“‘As thou wilt, Macumazahn,’ answered the chief, with a shrug of the +shoulders; ‘first let the white man and Maiwa be brought forth.’ + +“So the soldiers came forward and carried Every and the woman into the +open air. As the former was borne past his tormentor, the fallen chief, +so cowardly was his wicked heart, actually prayed him to intercede for +him, and save him from a fate which, but for our providential +appearance, would have been Every’s own. + +“So we went away, and in another moment one of the biggest villains on +the earth troubled it no more. Once in the fresh air Every recovered +quickly. I looked at him, and horror and sorrow pierced me through to +see such a sight. His face was the face of a man of sixty, though he +was not yet forty, and his poor body was cut to pieces with stripes and +scars, and other marks of the torments which Wambe had for years amused +himself with inflicting on him. + +“As soon as he recovered himself a little he struggled on to his knees, +burst into a paroxysm of weeping, and clasping my legs with his +emaciated arms, would have actually kissed my feet. + +“‘What are you about, old fellow?’ I said, for I am not accustomed to +that sort of thing, and it made me feel uncomfortable. + +“‘Oh, God bless you?’ he moaned, ‘God bless you! If only you knew what +I have gone through; and to think that you should have come to help me, +and at the risk of your own life! Well, you were always a true +friend—yes, yes, a true friend.’ + +“‘Bosh,’ I answered testily; ‘I’m a trader, and I came after that +ivory,’ and I pointed to the stockade of tusks. ‘Did you ever hear of +an elephant-hunter who would not have risked his immortal soul for +them, and much more his carcase?’ + +“But he took no notice of my explanations, and went on God blessing me +as hard as ever, till at last I bethought me that a nip of brandy, of +which I had a flask full, might steady his nerves a bit. I gave it him, +and was not disappointed in the result, for he brisked up wonderfully. +Then I hunted about in Wambe’s hut, and found a kaross to put over his +poor bruised shoulders, and he was quite a man again. + +“‘Now,’ I said, ‘why did the late lamented Wambe want to put you in +that trap?’ + +“‘Because as soon as they heard that the fight was going against them, +and that Maiwa was charging at the head of Nala’s impi, one of the +women told Wambe that she had seen me write something on some leaves +and give them to Maiwa before she went away to purify herself. Then of +course he guessed that I had to do with your seizing the koppie and +holding it while the impi rushed the place from the mountain, so he +determined to torture me to death before help could come. Oh, heavens! +what a mercy it is to hear English again.’ + +“‘How long have you been a prisoner here, Every?’ I asked. + +“‘Six years and a bit, Quatermain; I have lost count of the odd months +lately. I came up here with Major Aldey and three other gentlemen and +forty bearers. That devil Wambe ambushed us, and murdered the lot to +get their guns. They weren’t much use to him when he got them, being +breech-loaders, for the fools fired away all the ammunition in a month +or two. However, they are all in good order, and hanging up in the hut +there. They didn’t kill me because one of them saw me mending a gun +just before they attacked us, so they kept me as a kind of armourer. +Twice I tried to make a bolt of it, but was caught each time. Last time +Wambe had me flogged very nearly to death—you can see the scars upon my +back. Indeed I should have died if it hadn’t been for the girl Maiwa, +who nursed me by stealth. He got that accursed lion trap among our +things also, and I suppose he has tortured between one and two hundred +people to death in it. It was his favourite amusement, and he would go +every day and sit and watch his victim till he died. Sometimes he would +give him food and water to keep him alive longer, telling him or her +that he would let him go if he lived till a certain day. But he never +did let them go. They all died there, and I could show you their bones +behind that rock.’ + +“‘The devil!’ I said, grinding my teeth. ‘I wish I hadn’t interfered; I +wish I had left him to the same fate.’ + +“‘Well, he got a taste of it any way,’ said Every; ‘I’m glad he got a +taste. There’s justice in it, and now he’s gone to hell, and I hope +there is another one ready for him there. By Jove! I should like to +have the setting of it.’ + +“And so he talked on, and I sat and listened to him, wondering how he +had kept his reason for so many years. But he didn’t talk as I have +told it, in plain English. He spoke very slowly, and as though he had +got something in his mouth, continually using native words because the +English ones had slipped his memory. + +“At last Nala came up and told us that food was made ready, and +thankful enough we were to get it, I can tell you. After we had eaten +we held a consultation. Quite a thousand of Wambe’s soldiers were put +_hors de combat_, but at least two thousand remained hidden in the bush +and rocks, and these men, together with those in the outlying kraals, +were a source of possible danger. The question arose, therefore, what +was to be done—were they to be followed or left alone? I waited till +everybody had spoken, some giving one opinion and some another, and +then being appealed to I gave mine. It was to the effect that Nala +should take a leaf out of the great Zulu T’Chaka’s book, and +incorporate the tribe, not destroy it. We had a good many women among +the prisoners. Let them, I suggested, be sent to the hiding-places of +the soldiers and make an offer. If the men would come and lay down +their arms and declare allegiance to Nala, they and their town and +cattle should be spared. Wambe’s cattle alone would be seized as the +prize of war. Moreover, Wambe having left no children, his wife Maiwa +should be declared chieftainess of the tribe, under Nala. If they did +not accept this offer by the morning of the second day it should be +taken as a declaration that they wished to continue the war. Their town +should be burned, their cattle, which our men were already collecting +and driving in in great numbers, would be taken, and they should be +hunted down. + +“This advice was at once declared to be wise, and acted on. The women +were despatched, and I saw from their faces that they never expected to +get such terms, and did not think that their mission would be in vain. +Nevertheless, we spent that afternoon in preparations against possible +surprise, and also in collecting all the wounded of both parties into a +hospital, which we extemporized out of some huts, and there attending +to them as best we could. + +“That evening Every had the first pipe of tobacco that he had tasted +for six years. Poor fellow, he nearly cried with joy over it. The night +passed without any sign of attack, and on the following morning we +began to see the effect of our message, for women, children, and a few +men came in in little knots, and took possession of their huts. It was +of course rather difficult to prevent our men from looting, and +generally going on as natives, and for the matter of that white men +too, are in the habit of doing after a victory. But one man who after +warning was caught maltreating a woman was brought out and killed by +Nala’s order, and though there was a little grumbling, that put a stop +to further trouble. + +“On the second morning the head men and numbers of their followers came +in in groups, and about midday a deputation of the former presented +themselves before us without their weapons. They were conquered, they +said, and Wambe was dead, so they came to hear the words of the great +lion who had eaten them up, and of the crafty white man, the jackal, +who had dug a hole for them to fall in, and of Maiwa, Lady of War, who +had led the charge and turned the fate of the battle. + +“So we let them hear the words, and when we had done an old man rose +and said, that in the name of the people he accepted the yoke that was +laid upon their shoulders, and that the more gladly because even the +rule of a woman could not be worse than the rule of Wambe. Moreover, +they knew Maiwa, the Lady of War, and feared her not, though she was a +witch and terrible to see in battle. + +“Then Nala asked his daughter if she was willing to become chieftainess +of the tribe under him. + +“Maiwa, who had been very silent since her revenge was accomplished, +answered yes, that she was, and that her rule should be good and gentle +to those who were good and gentle to her, but the froward and +rebellious she would smite with a rod of iron; which from my knowledge +of her character I thought exceedingly probable. + +“The head man replied that that was a good saying, and they did not +complain at it, and so the meeting ended. + +“Next day we spent in preparations for departure. Mine consisted +chiefly in superintending the digging up of the stockade of ivory +tusks, which I did with the greatest satisfaction. There were some five +hundred of them altogether. I made inquiries about it from Every, who +told me that the stockade had been there so long that nobody seemed to +know exactly who had collected the tusks originally. There was, +however, a kind of superstitious feeling about them which had always +prevented the chiefs from trying to sell this great mass of ivory. +Every and I examined it carefully, and found that although it was so +old its quality was really as good as ever, and there was very little +soft ivory in the lot. At first I was rather afraid lest, now that my +services had been rendered, Nala should hesitate to part with so much +valuable property, but this was not the case. When I spoke to him on +the subject he merely said, ‘Take it, Macumazahn, take it; you have +earned it well,’ and, to speak the truth, though I say it who +shouldn’t, I think I had. So we pressed several hundred Matuku bearers +into our service, and next day marched off with the lot. + +“Before we went I took a formal farewell of Maiwa, whom we left with a +bodyguard of three hundred men to assist her in settling the country. +She gave me her hand to kiss in a queenly sort of way, and then said, + +“‘Macumazahn, you are a brave man, and have been a friend to me in my +need. If ever you want help or shelter, remember that Maiwa has a good +memory for friend and foe. All I have is yours. + +“And so I thanked her and went. She was certainly a very remarkable +woman. A year or two ago I heard that her father Nala was dead, and +that she had succeeded to the chieftainship of both tribes, which she +ruled with great justice and firmness. + +“I can assure you that we ascended the pass leading to Wambe’s town +with feelings very different from those with which we had descended it +a few days before. But if I was grateful for the issue of events, you +can easily imagine what poor Every’s feelings were. When we got to the +top of the pass, before the whole impi he actually flopped down upon +his knees and thanked Heaven for his escape, the tears running down his +face. But then, as I have said, his nerves were shaken—though now that +his beard was trimmed and he had some sort of clothes on his back, and +hope in his heart, he looked a very different man from the poor wretch +whom we had rescued from death by torture. + +“Well, we separated from Nala at the little stairway or pass over the +mountain—Every and I and the ivory going down the river which I had +come up a few weeks before, and the chief returning to his own kraal on +the further side of the mountain. He gave us an escort of a hundred and +fifty men, however, with instructions to accompany us for six days’ +journey, and to keep the Matuku bearers in order and then return. I +knew that in six days we should be able to reach a district where +porters were plentiful, and whence we could easily get the ivory +conveyed to Delagoa Bay.” + +“And did you land it up safe?” I asked. + +“Well no,” said Quatermain, “we lost about a third of it in crossing a +river. A flood came down suddenly just as the men were crossing and +many of them had to throw down their tusks to save their lives. We had +no means of dragging it up, and so we were obliged to leave it, which +was very sad. However, we sold what remained for nearly seven thousand +pounds, so we did not do so badly. I don’t mean that I got seven +thousand pounds out of it, because, you see, I insisted upon Every +taking a half share. Poor fellow, he had earned it, if ever a man did. +He set up a store in the old colony on the proceeds and did uncommonly +well.” + +“And what did you do with the lion trap?” asked Sir Henry. + +“Oh, I brought that away with me also, and when I reached Durban I put +it in my house. But really I could not bear to sit opposite to it at +nights as I smoked. Visions of that poor woman and the hand of her dead +child would rise up in my mind, and also of all the horrors of which it +had been the instrument. I began to dream at last that it held me by +the leg. This was too much for my nerves, so I just packed it up and +shipped it to its maker in England, whose name was stamped upon the +steel, sending him a letter at the same time to tell him to what +purpose the infernal machine had been put. I believe that he gave it to +some museum or other.” + +“And what became of the tusks of the three bulls which you shot! You +must have left them at Nala’s kraal, I suppose.” + +The old gentleman’s face fell at this question. + +“Ah,” he said, “that is a very sad story. Nala promised to send them +with my goods to my agent at Delagoa, and so he did. But the men who +brought them were unarmed, and, as it happened, they fell in with a +slave caravan under the command of a half-bred Portuguese, who seized +the tusks, and what is worse, swore that he had shot them. I paid him +out afterwards, however,” he added with a smile of satisfaction, “but +it did not give me back my tusks, which no doubt have been turned into +hair brushes long ago;” and he sighed. + +“Well,” said Good, “that is a capital yarn of yours, Quatermain, but——” + +“But what?” he asked sharply, foreseeing a draw. + +“But I don’t think that it was so good as mine about the ibex—it hasn’t +the same _finish_.” + +Mr. Quatermain made no reply. Good was beneath it. + +“Do you know, gentlemen,” he said, “it is half-past two in the morning, +and if we are going to shoot the big wood to-morrow we ought to leave +here at nine-thirty sharp.” + +“Oh, if you shoot for a hundred years you will never beat the record of +those three woodcocks,” I said. + +“Or of those three elephants,” added Sir Henry. + +And then we all went to bed, and I dreamed that I had married Maiwa, +and was much afraid of that attractive but determined lady. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAIWA’S REVENGE *** + +***** This file should be named 2713-0.txt or 2713-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/1/2713/ + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the +United States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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Rider Haggard</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Maiwa’s Revenge<br /> +The War of the Little Hand</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: H. Rider Haggard</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July, 2001 [eBook #2713]<br /> +[Most recently updated: April 8, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: John Bickers, Dagny, Emma Dudding and David Widger</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAIWA’S REVENGE ***</div> + +<h1>Maiwa’s Revenge</h1> + +<h3>or The War of the Little Hand</h3> + +<h2 class="no-break">by H. Rider Haggard</h2> + +<hr /> + +<h2>Contents</h2> + +<table summary="" style=""> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#pref01">PREFACE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap01">CHAPTER I. GOBO STRIKES</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap02">CHAPTER II. A MORNING’S SPORT</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap03">CHAPTER III. THE FIRST ROUND</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap04">CHAPTER IV. THE LAST ROUND</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap05">CHAPTER V. THE MESSAGE OF MAIWA</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap06">CHAPTER VI. THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap07">CHAPTER VII. THE ATTACK</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap08">CHAPTER VIII. MAIWA IS AVENGED</a></td> +</tr> + +</table> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="pref01"></a>PREFACE</h2> + +<p> +It may be well to state that the incident of the “Thing that bites” +recorded in this tale is not an effort of the imagination. On the contrary, it +is “plagiarized.” Mandara, a well-known chief on the east coast of +Africa, has such an article, <i>and uses it</i>. In the same way the wicked +conduct attributed to Wambe is not without a precedent. T’Chaka, the Zulu +Napoleon, never allowed a child of his to live. Indeed he went further, for on +discovering that his mother, Unandi, was bringing up one of his sons in secret, +like Nero he killed her, and with his own hand. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2>MAIWA’S REVENGE</h2> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap01"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /> +GOBO STRIKES</h2> + +<p> +One day—it was about a week after Allan Quatermain told me his story of +the “Three Lions,” and of the moving death of Jim-Jim—he and +I were walking home together on the termination of a day’s shooting. He +owned about two thousand acres of shooting round the place he had bought in +Yorkshire, over a hundred of which were wood. It was the second year of his +occupation of the estate, and already he had reared a very fair head of +pheasants, for he was an all-round sportsman, and as fond of shooting with a +shot-gun as with an eight-bore rifle. We were three guns that day, Sir Henry +Curtis, Old Quatermain, and myself; but Sir Henry was obliged to leave in the +middle of the afternoon in order to meet his agent, and inspect an outlying +farm where a new shed was wanted. However, he was coming back to dinner, and +going to bring Captain Good with him, for Brayley Hall was not more than two +miles from the Grange. +</p> + +<p> +We had met with very fair sport, considering that we were only going through +outlying cover for cocks. I think that we had killed twenty-seven, a woodcock +and a leash of partridges which we secured out of a driven covey. On our way +home there lay a long narrow spinney, which was a very favourite +“lie” for woodcocks, and generally held a pheasant or two as well. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what do you say?” said old Quatermain, “shall we beat +through this for a finish?” +</p> + +<p> +I assented, and he called to the keeper who was following with a little knot of +beaters, and told him to beat the spinney. +</p> + +<p> +“Very well, sir,” answered the man, “but it’s getting +wonderful dark, and the wind’s rising a gale. It will take you all your +time to hit a woodcock if the spinney holds one.” +</p> + +<p> +“You show us the woodcocks, Jeffries,” answered Quatermain quickly, +for he never liked being crossed in anything to do with sport, “and we +will look after shooting them.” +</p> + +<p> +The man turned and went rather sulkily. I heard him say to the under-keeper, +“He’s pretty good, the master is, I’m not saying he +isn’t, but if he kills a woodcock in this light and wind, I’m a +Dutchman.” +</p> + +<p> +I think that Quatermain heard him too, though he said nothing. The wind was +rising every minute, and by the time the beat begun it blew big guns. I stood +at the right-hand corner of the spinney, which curved round somewhat, and +Quatermain stood at the left, about forty paces from me. Presently an old cock +pheasant came rocketing over me, looking as though the feathers were being +blown out of his tail. I missed him clean with the first barrel, and was never +more pleased with myself in my life than when I doubled him up with the second, +for the shot was not an easy one. In the faint light I could see Quatermain +nodding his head in approval, when through the groaning of the trees I heard +the shouts of the beaters, “Cock forward, cock to the right.” Then +came a whole volley of shouts, “Woodcock to the right,” “Cock +to the left,” “Cock over.” +</p> + +<p> +I looked up, and presently caught sight of one of the woodcocks coming down the +wind upon me like a flash. In that dim light I could not follow all his +movements as he zigzagged through the naked tree-tops; indeed I could see him +when his wings flitted up. Now he was passing me—<i>bang</i>, and a flick +of the wing, I had missed him; <i>bang</i> again. Surely he was down; no, there +he went to my left. +</p> + +<p> +“Cock to you,” I shouted, stepping forward so as to get Quatermain +between me and the faint angry light of the dying day, for I wanted to see if +he would “wipe my eye.” I knew him to be a wonderful shot, but I +thought that cock would puzzle him. +</p> + +<p> +I saw him raise his gun ever so little and bend forward, and at that moment out +flashed two woodcocks into the open, the one I had missed to his right, and the +other to his left. +</p> + +<p> +At the same time a fresh shout arose of, “Woodcock over,” and +looking down the spinney I saw a third bird high up in the air, being blown +along like a brown and whirling leaf straight over Quatermain’s head. And +then followed the prettiest little bit of shooting that I ever saw. The bird to +the right was flying low, not ten yards from the line of a hedgerow, and +Quatermain took him first because he would become invisible the soonest of any. +Indeed, nobody who had not his hawk’s eyes could have seen to shoot at +all. But he saw the bird well enough to kill it dead as a stone. Then turning +sharply, he pulled on the second bird at about forty-five yards, and over he +went. By this time the third woodcock was nearly over him, and flying very +high, straight down the wind, a hundred feet up or more, I should say. I saw +him glance at it as he opened his gun, threw out the right cartridge and +slipped in another, turning round as he did so. By this time the cock was +nearly fifty yards away from him, and travelling like a flash. Lifting his gun +he fired after it, and, wonderful as the shot was, killed it dead. A tearing +gust of wind caught the dead bird, and blew it away like a leaf torn from an +oak, so that it fell a hundred and thirty yards off or more. +</p> + +<p> +“I say, Quatermain,” I said to him when the beaters were up, +“do you often do this sort of thing?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” he answered, with a dry smile, “the last time I had +to load three shots as quickly as that was at rather larger game. It was at +elephants. I killed them all three as dead as I killed those woodcocks; but it +very nearly went the other way, I can tell you; I mean that they very nearly +killed me.” +</p> + +<p> +Just at that moment the keeper came up, “Did you happen to get one of +them there cocks, sir?” he said, with the air of a man who did not in the +least expect an answer in the affirmative. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, yes, Jeffries,” answered Quatermain; “you will find +one of them by the hedge, and another about fifty yards out by the plough there +to the left——” +</p> + +<p> +The keeper had turned to go, looking a little astonished, when Quatermain +called him back. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop a bit, Jeffries,” he said. “You see that pollard about +one hundred and forty yards off? Well, there should be another woodcock down in +a line with it, about sixty paces out in the field.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, if that bean’t the very smartest bit of shooting,” +murmured Jeffries, and departed. +</p> + +<p> +After that we went home, and in due course Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good +arrived for dinner, the latter arrayed in the tightest and most ornamental +dress-suit I ever saw. I remember that the waistcoat was adorned with five pink +coral buttons. +</p> + +<p> +It was a very pleasant dinner. Old Quatermain was in an excellent humour; +induced, I think, by the recollection of his triumph over the doubting +Jeffries. Good, too, was full of anecdotes. He told us a most miraculous story +of how he once went shooting ibex in Kashmir. These ibex, according to Good, he +stalked early and late for four entire days. At last on the morning of the +fifth day he succeeded in getting within range of the flock, which consisted of +a magnificent old ram with horns so long that I am afraid to mention their +measure, and five or six females. Good crawled upon his stomach, painfully +taking shelter behind rocks, till he was within two hundred yards; then he drew +a fine bead upon the old ram. At this moment, however, a diversion occurred. +Some wandering native of the hills appeared upon a distant mountain top. The +females turned, and rushing over a rock vanished from Good’s ken. But the +old ram took a bolder course. In front of him stretched a mighty crevasse at +least thirty feet in width. He went at it with a bound. Whilst he was in +mid-air Good fired, and killed him dead. The ram turned a complete somersault +in space, and fell in such fashion that his horns hooked themselves upon a big +projection of the opposite cliffs. There he hung, till Good, after a long and +painful détour, gracefully dropped a lasso over him and fished him up. +</p> + +<p> +This moving tale of wild adventure was received with undeserved incredulity. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said Good, “if you fellows won’t believe my +story when I tell it—a perfectly true story mind—perhaps one of you +will give us a better; I’m not particular if it is true or not.” +And he lapsed into a dignified silence. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, Quatermain,” I said, “don’t let Good beat you, +let us hear how you killed those elephants you were talking about this evening +just after you shot the woodcocks.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said Quatermain, dryly, and with something like a twinkle +in his brown eyes, “it is very hard fortune for a man to have to follow +on Good’s ‘spoor.’ Indeed if it were not for that running +giraffe which, as you will remember, Curtis, we saw Good bowl over with a +Martini rifle at three hundred yards, I should almost have said that this was +an impossible tale.” +</p> + +<p> +Here Good looked up with an air of indignant innocence. +</p> + +<p> +“However,” he went on, rising and lighting his pipe, “if you +fellows like, I will spin you a yarn. I was telling one of you the other night +about those three lions and how the lioness finished my unfortunate +‘voorlooper,’ Jim-Jim, the boy whom we buried in the bread-bag. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, after this little experience I thought that I would settle down a +bit, so I entered upon a venture with a man who, being of a speculative mind, +had conceived the idea of running a store at Pretoria upon strictly cash +principles. The arrangement was that I should find the capital and he the +experience. Our partnership was not of a long duration. The Boers refused to +pay cash, and at the end of four months my partner had the capital and I had +the experience. After this I came to the conclusion that store-keeping was not +in my line, and having four hundred pounds left, I sent my boy Harry to a +school in Natal, and buying an outfit with what remained of the money, started +upon a big trip. +</p> + +<p> +“This time I determined to go further afield than I had ever been before; +so I took a passage for a few pounds in a trading brig that ran between Durban +and Delagoa Bay. From Delagoa Bay I marched inland accompanied by twenty +porters, with the idea of striking up north, towards the Limpopo, and keeping +parallel to the coast, but at a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles +from it. For the first twenty days of our journey we suffered a good deal from +fever, that is, my men did, for I think that I am fever proof. Also I was hard +put to it to keep the camp in meat, for although the country proved to be very +sparsely populated, there was but little game about. Indeed, during all that +time I hardly killed anything larger than a waterbuck, and, as you know, +waterbuck’s flesh is not very appetising food. On the twentieth day, +however, we came to the banks of a largish river, the Gonooroo it was called. +This I crossed, and then struck inland towards a great range of mountains, the +blue crests of which we could see lying on the distant heavens like a shadow, a +continuation, as I believe, of the Drakensberg range that skirts the coast of +Natal. From this main range a great spur shoots out some fifty miles or so +towards the coast, ending abruptly in one tremendous peak. This spur I +discovered separated the territories of two chiefs named Nala and Wambe, +Wambe’s territory being to the north, and Nala’s to the south. Nala +ruled a tribe of bastard Zulus called the Butiana, and Wambe a much larger +tribe, called the Matuku, which presents marked Bantu characteristics. For +instance, they have doors and verandahs to their huts, work skins perfectly, +and wear a waistcloth and not a moocha. At this time the Butiana were more or +less subject to the Matuku, having been surprised by them some twenty years +before and mercilessly slaughtered down. The tribe was now recovering itself, +however, and as you may imagine, it did not love the Matuku. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I heard as I went along that elephants were very plentiful in the +dense forests which lie upon the slopes and at the foot of the mountains that +border Wambe’s territory. Also I heard a very ill report of that worthy +himself, who lived in a kraal upon the side of the mountain, which was so +strongly fortified as to be practically impregnable. It was said that he was +the most cruel chief in this part of Africa, and that he had murdered in cold +blood an entire party of English gentlemen, who, some seven years before, had +gone into his country to hunt elephants. They took an old friend of mine with +them as guide, John Every by name, and often had I mourned over his untimely +death. All the same, Wambe or no Wambe, I determined to hunt elephants in his +country. I never was afraid of natives, and I was not going to show the white +feather now. I am a bit of a fatalist, as you fellows know, so I came to the +conclusion that if it was fated that Wambe should send me to join my old friend +John Every, I should have to go, and there was an end of it. Meanwhile, I meant +to hunt elephants with a peaceful heart. +</p> + +<p> +“On the third day from the date of our sighting the great peak, we found +ourselves beneath its shadow. Still following the course of the river which +wound through the forests at the base of the peak, we entered the territory of +the redoubtable Wambe. This, however, was not accomplished without a certain +difference of opinion between my bearers and myself, for when we reached the +spot where Wambe’s boundary was supposed to run, the bearers sat down and +emphatically refused to go a step further. I sat down too, and argued with +them, putting my fatalistic views before them as well as I was able. But I +could not persuade them to look at the matter in the same light. ‘At +present,’ they said, ‘their skins were whole; if they went into +Wambe’s country without his leave they would soon be like a water-eaten +leaf. It was very well for me to say that this would be Fate. Fate no doubt +might be walking about in Wambe’s country, but while they stopped outside +they would not meet him.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Well,’ I said to Gobo, my head man, ‘and what do you +mean to do?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘We mean to go back to the coast, Macumazahn,’ he answered +insolently. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Do you?’ I replied, for my bile was stirred. ‘At any +rate, Mr. Gobo, you and one or two others will never get there; see here, my +friend,’ and I took a repeating rifle and sat myself comfortably down, +resting my back against a tree—‘I have just breakfasted, and I had +as soon spend the day here as anywhere else. Now if you or any of those men +walk one step back from here, and towards the coast, I shall fire at you; and +you know that I don’t miss.’ +</p> + +<p> +“The man fingered the spear he was carrying—luckily all my guns +were stacked against the tree—and then turned as though to walk away, the +others keeping their eyes fixed upon him all the while. I rose and covered him +with the rifle, and though he kept up a brave appearance of unconcern, I saw +that he was glancing nervously at me all the time. When he had gone about +twenty yards I spoke very quietly— +</p> + +<p> +“‘Now, Gobo,’ I said, ‘come back, or I shall +fire.’ +</p> + +<p> +“Of course this was taking a very high hand; I had no real right to kill +Gobo or anybody else because they objected to run the risk of death by entering +the territory of a hostile chief. But I felt that if I wished to keep up any +authority it was absolutely necessary that I should push matters to the last +extremity short of actually shooting him. So I sat there, looking fierce as a +lion, and keeping the sight of my rifle in a dead line for Gobo’s ribs. +Then Gobo, feeling that the situation was getting strained, gave in. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Don’t shoot, Boss,’ he shouted, throwing up his hand, +‘I will come with you.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I thought you would,’ I answered quietly; ‘you see +Fate walks about outside Wambe’s country as well as in it.’ +</p> + +<p> +“After that I had no more trouble, for Gobo was the ringleader, and when +he collapsed the others collapsed also. Harmony being thus restored, we crossed +the line, and on the following morning I began shooting in good earnest.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap02"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /> +A MORNING’S SPORT</h2> + +<p> +“Moving some five or six miles round the base of the great peak of which +I have spoken, we came the same day to one of the fairest bits of African +country that I have seen outside of Kukuanaland. At this spot the mountain spur +that runs out at right angles to the great range, which stretches its +cloud-clad length north and south as far as the eye can reach, sweeps inwards +with a vast and splendid curve. This curve measures some five-and-thirty miles +from point to point, and across its moon-like segment the river flashed, a +silver line of light. On the further side of the river is a measureless sea of +swelling ground, a natural park covered with great patches of bush—some +of them being many square miles in extent. These are separated one from another +by glades of grass land, broken here and there with clumps of timber trees; and +in some instances by curious isolated koppies, and even by single crags of +granite that start up into the air as though they were monuments carved by man, +and not tombstones set by nature over the grave of ages gone. On the west this +beautiful plain is bordered by the lonely mountain, from the edge of which it +rolls down toward the fever coast; but how far it runs to the north I cannot +say—eight days’ journey, according to the natives, when it is lost +in an untravelled morass. +</p> + +<p> +“On the hither side of the river the scenery is different. Along the edge +of its banks, where the land is flat, are green patches of swamp. Then comes a +wide belt of beautiful grass land covered thickly with game, and sloping up +very gently to the borders of the forest, which, beginning at about a thousand +feet above the level of the plain, clothes the mountain-side almost to its +crest. In this forest grow great trees, most of them of the yellow-wood +species. Some of these trees are so lofty, that a bird in their top branches +would be out of range of an ordinary shot gun. Another peculiar thing about +them is, that they are for the most part covered with a dense growth of the +Orchilla moss; and from this moss the natives manufacture a most excellent deep +purple dye, with which they stain tanned hides and also cloth, when they happen +to get any of the latter. I do not think that I ever saw anything more +remarkable than the appearance of one of these mighty trees festooned from top +to bottom with trailing wreaths of this sad-hued moss, in which the wind +whispers gently as it stirs them. At a distance it looks like the gray locks of +a Titan crowned with bright green leaves, and here and there starred with the +rich bloom of orchids. +</p> + +<p> +“The night of that day on which I had my little difference of opinion +with Gobo, we camped by the edge of this great forest, and on the following +morning at daylight I started out shooting. As we were short of meat I +determined to kill a buffalo, of which there were plenty about, before looking +for traces of elephants. Not more than half a mile from camp we came across a +trail broad as a cart-road, evidently made by a great herd of buffaloes which +had passed up at dawn from their feeding ground in the marshes, to spend the +day in the cool air of the uplands. This trail I followed boldly; for such wind +as there was blew straight down the mountain-side, that is, from the direction +in which the buffaloes had gone, to me. About a mile further on the forest +began to be dense, and the nature of the trail showed me that I must be close +to my game. Another two hundred yards and the bush was so thick that, had it +not been for the trail, we could scarcely have passed through it. As it was, +Gobo, who carried my eight-bore rifle (for I had the .570-express in my hand), +and the other two men whom I had taken with me, showed the very strongest +dislike to going any further, pointing out that there was ‘no room to run +away.’ I told them that they need not come unless they liked, but that I +was certainly going on; and then, growing ashamed, they came. +</p> + +<p> +“Another fifty yards, and the trail opened into a little glade. I knelt +down and peeped and peered, but no buffalo could I see. Evidently the herd had +broken up here—I knew that from the spoor—and penetrated the +opposite bush in little troops. I crossed the glade, and choosing one line of +spoor, followed it for some sixty yards, when it became clear to me that I was +surrounded by buffaloes; and yet so dense was the cover that I could not see +any. A few yards to my left I could hear one rubbing its horns against a tree, +while from my right came an occasional low and throaty grunt which told me that +I was uncomfortably near an old bull. I crept on towards him with my heart in +my mouth, as gently as though I were walking upon eggs for a bet, lifting every +little bit of wood in my path, and placing it behind me lest it should crack +and warn the game. After me in single file came my three retainers, and I +don’t know which of them looked the most frightened. Presently Gobo +touched my leg; I glanced round, and saw him pointing slantwise towards the +left. I lifted my head a little and peeped over a mass of creepers; beyond the +creepers was a dense bush of sharp-pointed aloes, of that kind of which the +leaves project laterally, and on the other side of the aloes, not fifteen paces +from us, I made out the horns, neck, and the ridge of the back of a tremendous +old bull. I took my eight-bore, and getting on to my knee prepared to shoot him +through the neck, taking my chance of cutting his spine. I had already covered +him as well as the aloe leaves would allow, when he gave a kind of sigh and lay +down. +</p> + +<p> +“I looked round in dismay. What was to be done now? I could not see to +shoot him lying down, even if my bullet would have pierced the intervening +aloes—which was doubtful—and if I stood up he would either run away +or charge me. I reflected, and came to the conclusion that the only thing to do +was to lie down also; for I did not fancy wandering after other buffaloes in +that dense bush. If a buffalo lies down, it is clear that he must get up again +some time, so it was only a case of patience—‘fighting the fight of +sit down,’ as the Zulus say. +</p> + +<p> +“Accordingly I sat down and lighted a pipe, thinking that the smell of it +might reach the buffalo and make him get up. But the wind was the wrong way, +and it did not; so when it was done I lit another. Afterwards I had cause to +regret that pipe. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, we squatted like this for between half and three quarters of an +hour, till at length I began to grow heartily sick of the performance. It was +about as dull a business as the last hour of a comic opera. I could hear +buffaloes snorting and moving all round, and see the red-beaked tic birds +flying up off their backs, making a kind of hiss as they did so, something like +that of the English missel-thrush, but I could not see a single buffalo. As for +my old bull, I think he must have slept the sleep of the just, for he never +even stirred. +</p> + +<p> +“Just as I was making up my mind that something must be done to save the +situation, my attention was attracted by a curious grinding noise. At first I +thought that it must be a buffalo chewing the cud, but was obliged to abandon +the idea because the noise was too loud. I shifted myself round and stared +through the cracks in the bush, in the direction whence the sound seemed to +come, and once I thought that I saw something gray moving about fifty yards +off, but could not make certain. Although the grinding noise still continued I +could see nothing more, so I gave up thinking about it, and once again turned +my attention to the buffalo. Presently, however, something happened. Suddenly +from about forty yards away there came a tremendous snorting sound, more like +that made by an engine getting a heavy train under weigh than anything else in +the world. +</p> + +<p> +“‘By Jove,’ I thought, turning round in the direction from +which the grinding sound had come, ‘that must be a rhinoceros, and he has +got our wind.’ For, as you fellows know, there is no mistaking the sound +made by a rhinoceros when he gets wind of you. +</p> + +<p> +“Another second, and I heard a most tremendous crashing noise. Before I +could think what to do, before I could even get up, the bush behind me seemed +to burst asunder, and there appeared not eight yards from us, the great horn +and wicked twinkling eye of a charging rhinoceros. He had winded us or my pipe, +I do not know which, and, after the fashion of these brutes, had charged up the +scent. I could not rise, I could not even get the gun up, I had no time. All +that I was able to do was to roll over as far out of the monster’s path +as the bush would allow. Another second and he was over me, his great bulk +towering above me like a mountain, and, upon my word, I could not get his smell +out of my nostrils for a week. Circumstances impressed it on my memory, at +least I suppose so. His hot breath blew upon my face, one of his front feet +just missed my head, and his hind one actually trod upon the loose part of my +trousers and pinched a little bit of my skin. I saw him pass over me lying as I +was upon my back, and next second I saw something else. My men were a little +behind me, and therefore straight in the path of the rhinoceros. One of them +flung himself backwards into the bush, and thus avoided him. The second with a +wild yell sprung to his feet, and bounded like an india-rubber ball right into +the aloe bush, landing well among the spikes. But the third, it was my friend +Gobo, could not by any means get away. He managed to gain his feet, and that +was all. The rhinoceros was charging with his head low; his horn passed between +Gobo’s legs, and feeling something on his nose, he jerked it up. Away +went Gobo, high into the air. He turned a complete somersault at the apex of +the curve, and as he did so, I caught sight of his face. It was gray with +terror, and his mouth was wide open. Down he came, right on to the great +brute’s back, and that broke his fall. Luckily for him the rhinoceros +never turned, but crashed straight through the aloe bush, only missing the man +who had jumped into it by about a yard. +</p> + +<p> +“Then followed a complication. The sleeping buffalo on the further side +of the bush, hearing the noise, sprang to his feet, and for a second, not +knowing what to do, stood still. At that instant the huge rhinoceros blundered +right on to him, and getting his horn beneath his stomach gave him such a +fearful dig that the buffalo was turned over on to his back, while his +assailant went a most amazing cropper over his carcase. In another moment, +however, the rhinoceros was up, and wheeling round to the left, crashed through +the bush down-hill and towards the open country. +</p> + +<p> +“Instantly the whole place became alive with alarming sounds. In every +direction troops of snorting buffaloes charged through the forest, wild with +fright, while the injured bull on the further side of the bush began to bellow +like a mad thing. I lay quite still for a moment, devoutly praying that none of +the flying buffaloes would come my way. Then when the danger lessened I got on +to my feet, shook myself, and looked round. One of my boys, he who had thrown +himself backward into the bush, was already half way up a tree—if heaven +had been at the top of it he could not have climbed quicker. Gobo was lying +close to me, groaning vigorously, but, as I suspected, quite unhurt; while from +the aloe bush into which No. 3 had bounded like a tennis ball, issued a +succession of the most piercing yells. +</p> + +<p> +“I looked, and saw that this unfortunate fellow was in a very tight +place. A great spike of aloe had run through the back of his skin waist-belt, +though without piercing his flesh, in such a fashion that it was impossible for +him to move, while within six feet of him the injured buffalo bull, thinking, +no doubt, that he was the aggressor, bellowed and ramped to get at him, tearing +the thick aloes with his great horns. That no time was to be lost, if I wished +to save the man’s life, was very clear. So seizing my eight-bore, which +was fortunately uninjured, I took a pace to the left, for the rhinoceros had +enlarged the hole in the bush, and aimed at the point of the buffalo’s +shoulder, since on account of my position I could not get a fair side shot for +the heart. As I did so I saw that the rhinoceros had given the bull a +tremendous wound in the stomach, and that the shock of the encounter had put +his left hind-leg out of joint at the hip. I fired, and the bullet striking the +shoulder broke it, and knocked the buffalo down. I knew that he could not get +up any more, because he was now injured fore and aft, so notwithstanding his +terrific bellows I scrambled round to where he was. There he lay glaring +furiously and tearing up the soil with his horns. Stepping up to within two +yards of him I aimed at the vertebra of his neck and fired. The bullet struck +true, and with a thud he dropped his head upon the ground, groaned, and died. +</p> + +<p> +“This little matter having been attended to with the assistance of Gobo, +who had now found his feet, I went on to extricate our unfortunate companion +from the aloe bush. This we found a thorny task, but at last he was dragged +forth uninjured, though in a very pious and prayerful frame of mind. His +‘spirit had certainly looked that way,’ he said, or he would now +have been dead. As I never like to interfere with true piety, I did not venture +to suggest that his spirit had deigned to make use of my eight-bore in his +interest. +</p> + +<p> +“Having despatched this boy back to the camp to tell the bearers to come +and cut the buffalo up, I bethought me that I owed that rhinoceros a grudge +which I should love to repay. So without saying a word of what was in my mind +to Gobo, who was now more than ever convinced that Fate walked about loose in +Wambe’s country, I just followed on the brute’s spoor. He had +crashed through the bush till he reached the little glade. Then moderating his +pace somewhat, he had followed the glade down its entire length, and once more +turned to the right through the forest, shaping his course for the open land +that lies between the edge of the bush and the river. Having followed him for a +mile or so further, I found myself quite on the open. I took out my glasses and +searched the plain. About a mile ahead was something brown—as I thought, +the rhinoceros. I advanced another quarter of a mile, and looked once +more—it was not the rhinoceros, but a big ant-heap. This was puzzling, +but I did not like to give it up, because I knew from his spoor that he must be +somewhere ahead. But as the wind was blowing straight from me towards the line +that he had followed, and as a rhinoceros can smell you for about a mile, it +would not, I felt, be safe to follow his trail any further; so I made a détour +of a mile and more, till I was nearly opposite the ant-heap, and then once more +searched the plain. It was no good, I could see nothing of him, and was about +to give it up and start after some oryx I saw on the skyline, when suddenly at +a distance of about three hundred yards from the ant-heap, and on its further +side, I saw my rhino stand up in a patch of grass. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Heavens!’ I thought to myself, ‘he’s off +again;’ but no, after standing staring for a minute or two he once more +lay down. +</p> + +<p> +“Now I found myself in a quandary. As you know, a rhinoceros is a very +short-sighted brute, indeed his sight is as bad as his scent is good. Of this +fact he is perfectly aware, but he always makes the most of his natural gifts. +For instance, when he lies down he invariably does so with his head down wind. +Thus, if any enemy crosses his wind he will still be able to escape, or attack +him; and if, on the other hand, the danger approaches up wind he will at least +have a chance of seeing it. Otherwise, by walking delicately, one might +actually kick him up like a partridge, if only the advance was made up wind. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, the point was, how on earth should I get within shot of this +rhinoceros? After much deliberation I determined to try a side approach, +thinking that in this way I might get a shoulder shot. Accordingly we started +in a crouching attitude, I first, Gobo holding on to my coat tails, and the +other boy on to Gobo’s moocha. I always adopt this plan when stalking big +game, for if you follow any other system the bearers will get out of line. We +arrived within three hundred yards safely enough, and then the real +difficulties began. The grass had been so closely eaten off by game that there +was scarcely any cover. Consequently it was necessary to go on to our hands and +knees, which in my case involved laying down the eight-bore at every step and +then lifting it up again. However, I wriggled along somehow, and if it had not +been for Gobo and his friend no doubt everything would have gone well. But as +you have, I dare say, observed, a native out stalking is always of that mind +which is supposed to actuate an ostrich—so long as his head is hidden he +seems to think that nothing else can be seen. So it was in this instance, Gobo +and the other boy crept along on their hands and toes with their heads well +down, but, though unfortunately I did not notice it till too late, bearing the +fundamental portions of their frames high in the air. Now all animals are quite +as suspicious of this end of mankind as they are of his face, and of that fact +I soon had a proof. Just when we had got within about two hundred yards, and I +was congratulating myself that I had not had this long crawl with the sun +beating on the back of my neck like a furnace for nothing, I heard the hissing +note of the rhinoceros birds, and up flew four or five of them from the +brute’s back, where they had been comfortably employed in catching tics. +Now this performance on the part of the birds is to a rhinoceros what the word +‘cave’ is to a schoolboy—it puts him on the <i>qui vive</i> +at once. Before the birds were well in the air I saw the grass stir. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Down you go,’ I whispered to the boys, and as I did so the +rhinoceros got up and glared suspiciously around. But he could see nothing, +indeed if we had been standing up I doubt if he would have seen us at that +distance; so he merely gave two or three sniffs and then lay down, his head +still down wind, the birds once more settling on his back. +</p> + +<p> +“But it was clear to me that he was sleeping with one eye open, being +generally in a suspicious and unchristian frame of mind, and that it was +useless to proceed further on this stalk, so we quietly withdrew to consider +the position and study the ground. The results were not satisfactory. There was +absolutely no cover about except the ant-heap, which was some three hundred +yards from the rhinoceros upon his up-wind side. I knew that if I tried to +stalk him in front I should fail, and so I should if I attempted to do so from +the further side—he or the birds would see me; so I came to a conclusion: +I would go to the ant-heap, which would give him my wind, and instead of +stalking him I would let him stalk me. It was a bold step, and one which I +should never advise a hunter to take, but somehow I felt as though rhino and I +must play the hand out. +</p> + +<p> +“I explained my intentions to the men, who both held up their arms in +horror. Their fears for my safety were a little mitigated, however, when I told +them that I did not expect them to come with me. +</p> + +<p> +“Gobo breathed a prayer that I might not meet Fate walking about, and the +other one sincerely trusted that my spirit might look my way when the +rhinoceros charged, and then they both departed to a place of safety. +</p> + +<p> +“Taking my eight-bore, and half-a-dozen spare cartridges in my pocket, I +made a détour, and reaching the ant-heap in safety lay down. For a moment the +wind had dropped, but presently a gentle puff of air passed over me, and blew +on towards the rhinoceros. By the way, I wonder what it is that smells so +strong about a man? Is it his body or his breath? I have never been able to +make out, but I saw it stated the other day, that in the duck decoys the man +who is working the ducks holds a little piece of burning turf before his mouth, +and that if he does this they cannot smell him, which looks as though it were +the breath. Well, whatever it was about me that attracted his attention, the +rhinoceros soon smelt me, for within half a minute after the puff of wind had +passed me he was on his legs, and turning round to get his head up wind. There +he stood for a few seconds and sniffed, and then he began to move, first of all +at a trot, then, as the scent grew stronger, at a furious gallop. On he came, +snorting like a runaway engine, with his tail stuck straight up in the air; if +he had seen me lie down there he could not have made a better line. It was +rather nervous work, I can tell you, lying there waiting for his onslaught, for +he looked like a mountain of flesh. I determined, however, not to fire till I +could plainly see his eye, for I think that rule always gives one the right +distance for big game; so I rested my rifle on the ant-heap and waited for him, +kneeling. At last, when he was about forty yards away, I saw that the time had +come, and aiming straight for the middle of the chest I pulled. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Thud</i> went the heavy bullet, and with a tremendous snort over +rolled the rhinoceros beneath its shock, just like a shot rabbit. But if I had +thought that he was done for I was mistaken, for in another second he was up +again, and coming at me as hard as ever, only with his head held low. I waited +till he was within ten yards, in the hope that he would expose his chest, but +he would do nothing of the sort; so I just had to fire at his head with the +left barrel, and take my chance. Well, as luck would have it, of course the +animal put its horn in the way of the bullet, which cut clean through it about +three inches above the root and then glanced off into space. +</p> + +<p> +“After that things got rather serious. My gun was empty and the +rhinoceros was rapidly arriving, so rapidly indeed that I came to the +conclusion that I had better make way for him. Accordingly I jumped to my feet +and ran to the right as hard as I could go. As I did so he arrived full tilt, +knocked my friendly ant-heap flat, and for the third time that day went a most +magnificent cropper. This gave me a few seconds’ start, and I ran down +wind—my word, I did run! Unfortunately, however, my modest retreat was +observed, and the rhinoceros, as soon as he had found his legs again, set to +work to run after me. Now no man on earth can run so fast as an irritated +rhinoceros can gallop, and I knew that he must soon catch me up. But having +some slight experience of this sort of thing, luckily for myself, I kept my +head, and as I fled I managed to open my rifle, get the old cartridges out, and +put in two fresh ones. To do this I was obliged to steady my pace a little, and +by the time that I had snapped the rifle to I heard the beast snorting and +thundering away within a few paces of my back. I stopped, and as I did so +rapidly cocked the rifle and slued round upon my heel. By this time the brute +was within six or seven yards of me, but luckily his head was up. I lifted the +rifle and fired at him. It was a snap shot, but the bullet struck him in the +chest within three inches of the first, and found its way into his lungs. It +did not stop him, however, so all I could do was to bound to one side, which I +did with surprising activity, and as he brushed past me to fire the other +barrel into his side. That did for him. The ball passed in behind the shoulder +and right through his heart. He fell over on to his side, gave one more awful +squeal—a dozen pigs could not have made such a noise—and promptly +died, keeping his wicked eyes wide open all the time. +</p> + +<p> +“As for me, I blew my nose, and going up to the rhinoceros sat on his +head, and reflected that I had done a capital morning’s shooting.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap03"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /> +THE FIRST ROUND</h2> + +<p> +“After this, as it was now midday, and I had killed enough meat, we +marched back triumphantly to camp, where I proceeded to concoct a stew of +buffalo beef and compressed vegetables. When this was ready we ate the stew, +and then I took a nap. About four o’clock, however, Gobo woke me up, and +told me that the head man of one of Wambe’s kraals had arrived to see me. +I ordered him to be brought up, and presently he came, a little, wizened, +talkative old man, with a waistcloth round his middle, and a greasy, frayed +kaross made of the skins of rock rabbits over his shoulders. +</p> + +<p> +“I told him to sit down, and then abused him roundly. ‘What did he +mean,’ I asked, ‘by disturbing me in this rude way? How did he dare +to cause a person of my quality and evident importance to be awakened in order +to interview his entirely contemptible self?’ +</p> + +<p> +“I spoke thus because I knew that it would produce an impression on him. +Nobody, except a really great man, he would argue, would dare to speak to him +in that fashion. Most savages are desperate bullies at heart, and look on +insolence as a sign of power. +</p> + +<p> +“The old man instantly collapsed. He was utterly overcome, he said; his +heart was split in two, and well realized the extent of his misbehaviour. But +the occasion was very urgent. He heard that a mighty hunter was in the +neighbourhood, a beautiful white man, how beautiful he could not have imagined +had he not seen (this to me!), and he came to beg his assistance. The truth +was, that three bull elephants such as no man ever saw had for years been the +terror of their kraal, which was but a small place—a cattle kraal of the +great chief Wambe’s, where they lived to keep the cattle. And now of late +these elephants had done them much damage; but last night they had destroyed a +whole patch of mealie land, and he feared that if they came back they would all +starve next season for want of food. Would the mighty white man then be pleased +to come and kill the elephants? It would be easy for him to do—oh, most +easy! It was only necessary that he should hide himself in a tree, for there +was a full moon, and then when the elephants appeared he would speak to them +with the gun, and they would fall down dead, and there would be an end of their +troubling. +</p> + +<p> +“Of course I hummed and hawed, and made a great favour of consenting to +his proposal, though really I was delighted to have such a chance. One of the +conditions that I made was that a messenger should at once be despatched to +Wambe, whose kraal was two days’ journey from where I was, telling him +that I proposed to come and pay my respects to him in a few days, and to ask +his formal permission to shoot in his country. Also I intimated that I was +prepared to present him with ‘hongo,’ that is, blackmail, and that +I hoped to do a little trade with him in ivory, of which I heard he had a great +quantity. +</p> + +<p> +“This message the old gentleman promised to despatch at once, though +there was something about his manner which showed me that he was doubtful as to +how it would be received. After that we struck our camp and moved on to the +kraal, which we reached about an hour before sunset. This kraal was a +collection of huts surrounded by a slight thorn-fence, perhaps there were ten +of them in all. It was situated in a kloof of the mountain down which a rivulet +flowed. The kloof was densely wooded, but for some distance above the kraal it +was free from bush, and here on the rich deep ground brought down by the +rivulet were the cultivated lands, in extent somewhere about twenty or +twenty-five acres. On the kraal side of these lands stood a single hut, that +served for a mealie store, which at the moment was used as a dwelling-place by +an old woman, the first wife of our friend the head man. +</p> + +<p> +“It appears that this lady, having had some difference of opinion with +her husband about the extent of authority allowed to a younger and more amiable +wife, had refused to dwell in the kraal any more, and, by way of marking her +displeasure, had taken up her abode among the mealies. As the issue will show, +she was, it happened, cutting off her nose to spite her face. +</p> + +<p> +“Close by this hut grew a large baobab tree. A glance at the mealie +grounds showed me that the old head man had not exaggerated the mischief done +by the elephants to his crops, which were now getting ripe. Nearly half of the +entire patch was destroyed. The great brutes had eaten all they could, and the +rest they had trampled down. I went up to their spoor and started back in +amazement—never had I seen such a spoor before. It was simply enormous, +more especially that of one old bull, that carried, so said the natives, but a +single tusk. One might have used any of the footprints for a hip-bath. +</p> + +<p> +“Having taken stock of the position, my next step was to make +arrangements for the fray. The three bulls, according to the natives, had been +spoored into the dense patch of bush above the kloof. Now it seemed to me very +probable that they would return to-night to feed on the remainder of the +ripening mealies. If so, there was a bright moon, and it struck me that by the +exercise of a little ingenuity I might bag one or more of them without exposing +myself to any risk, which, having the highest respect for the aggressive powers +of bull elephants, was a great consideration to me. +</p> + +<p> +“This then was my plan. To the right of the huts as you look up the +kloof, and commanding the mealie lands, stands the baobab tree that I have +mentioned. Into that baobab tree I made up my mind to go. Then if the elephants +appeared I should get a shot at them. I announced my intentions to the head man +of the kraal, who was delighted. ‘Now,’ he said, ‘his people +might sleep in peace, for while the mighty white hunter sat aloft like a spirit +watching over the welfare of his kraal what was there to fear?’ +</p> + +<p> +“I told him that he was an ungrateful brute to think of sleeping in peace +while, perched like a wounded vulture on a tree, I watched for his welfare in +wakeful sorrow; and once more he collapsed, and owned that my words were +‘sharp but just.’ +</p> + +<p> +“However, as I have said, confidence was completely restored; and that +evening everybody in the kraal, including the superannuated victim of jealousy +in the little hut where the mealie cobs were stored, went to bed with a sense +of sweet security from elephants and all other animals that prowl by night. +</p> + +<p> +“For my part, I pitched my camp below the kraal; and then, having +procured a beam of wood from the head man—rather a rotten one, by the +way—I set it across two boughs that ran out laterally from the baobab +tree, at a height of about twenty-five feet from the ground, in such fashion +that I and another man could sit upon it with our legs hanging down, and rest +our backs against the bole of the tree. This done I went back to the camp and +ate my supper. About nine o’clock, half-an-hour before the moon-rise, I +summoned Gobo, who, thinking that he had seen about enough of the delights of +big game hunting for that day, did not altogether relish the job; and, despite +his remonstrances, gave him my eight-bore to carry, I having the .570-express. +Then we set out for the tree. It was very dark, but we found it without +difficulty, though climbing it was a more complicated matter. However, at last +we got up and sat down, like two little boys on a form that is too high for +them, and waited. I did not dare to smoke, because I remembered the rhinoceros, +and feared that the elephants might wind the tobacco if they should come my +way, and this made the business more wearisome, so I fell to thinking and +wondering at the completeness of the silence. +</p> + +<p> +“At last the moon came up, and with it a moaning wind, at the breath of +which the silence began to whisper mysteriously. Lonely enough in the newborn +light looked the wide expanse of mountain, plain, and forest, more like some +vision of a dream, some reflection from a fair world of peace beyond our ken, +than the mere face of garish earth made soft with sleep. Indeed, had it not +been for the fact that I was beginning to find the log on which I sat very +hard, I should have grown quite sentimental over the beautiful sight; but I +will defy anybody to become sentimental when seated in the damp, on a very +rough beam of wood, and half-way up a tree. So I merely made a mental note that +it was a particularly lovely night, and turned my attention to the prospect of +elephants. But no elephants came, and after waiting for another hour or so, I +think that what between weariness and disgust, I must have dropped into a +gentle doze. Presently I awoke with a start. Gobo, who was perched close to me, +but as far off as the beam would allow—for neither white man nor black +like the aroma which each vows is the peculiar and disagreeable property of the +other—was faintly, very faintly clicking his forefinger against his +thumb. I knew by this signal, a very favourite one among native hunters and +gun-bearers, that he must have seen or heard something. I looked at his face, +and saw that he was staring excitedly towards the dim edge of the bush beyond +the deep green line of mealies. I stared too, and listened. Presently I heard a +soft large sound as though a giant were gently stretching out his hands and +pressing back the ears of standing corn. Then came a pause, and then, out into +the open majestically stalked the largest elephant I ever saw or ever shall +see. Heavens! what a monster he was; and how the moonlight gleamed upon his one +splendid tusk—for the other was missing—as he stood among the +mealies gently moving his enormous ears to and fro, and testing the wind with +his trunk. While I was still marvelling at his girth, and speculating upon the +weight of that huge tusk, which I swore should be my tusk before very long, out +stepped a second bull and stood beside him. He was not quite so tall, but he +seemed to me to be almost thicker-set than the first; and even in that light I +could see that both his tusks were perfect. Another pause, and the third +emerged. He was shorter than either of the others, but higher in the shoulder +than No. 2; and when I tell you, as I afterwards learnt from actual +measurement, that the smallest of these mighty bulls measured twelve feet one +and a half inches at the shoulder, it will give you some idea of their size. +The three formed into line and stood still for a minute, the one-tusked bull +gently caressing the elephant on the left with his trunk. +</p> + +<p> +“Then they began to feed, walking forward and slightly to the right as +they gathered great bunches of the sweet mealies and thrust them into their +mouths. All this time they were more than a hundred and twenty yards away from +me (this I knew, because I had paced the distances from the tree to various +points), much too far to allow of my attempting a shot at them in that +uncertain light. They fed in a semicircle, gradually drawing round towards the +hut near my tree, in which the corn was stored and the old woman slept. +</p> + +<p> +“This went on for between an hour and an hour and a half, till, what +between excitement and hope, that maketh the heart sick, I grew so weary that I +was actually contemplating a descent from the tree and a moonlight stalk. Such +an act in ground so open would have been that of a stark staring lunatic, and +that I should even have been contemplating it will show you the condition of my +mind. But everything comes to him who knows how to wait, and sometimes too to +him who doesn’t, and so at last those elephants, or rather one of them, +came to me. +</p> + +<p> +“After they had fed their fill, which was a very large one, the noble +three stood once more in line some seventy yards to the left of the hut, and on +the edge of the cultivated lands, or in all about eighty-five yards from where +I was perched. Then at last the one with a single tusk made a peculiar rattling +noise in his trunk, just as though he were blowing his nose, and without more +ado began to walk deliberately toward the hut where the old woman slept. I made +my rifle ready and glanced up at the moon, only to discover that a new +complication was looming in the immediate future. I have said that a wind rose +with the moon. Well, the wind brought rain-clouds along its track. Several +light ones had already lessened the light for a little while, though without +obscuring it, and now two more were coming up rapidly, both of them very black +and dense. The first cloud was small and long, and the one behind big and +broad. I remember noticing that the pair of them bore a most comical +resemblance to a dray drawn by a very long raw-boned horse. As luck would have +it, just as the elephant arrived within twenty-five yards or so of me, the head +of the horse-cloud floated over the face of the moon, rendering it impossible +for me to fire. In the faint twilight which remained, however, I could just +make out the gray mass of the great brute still advancing towards the hut. Then +the light went altogether and I had to trust to my ears. I heard him fumbling +with his trunk, apparently at the roof of the hut; next came a sound as of +straw being drawn out, and then for a little while there was complete silence. +</p> + +<p> +“The cloud began to pass; I could see the outline of the elephant; he was +standing with his head quite over the top of the hut. But I could not see his +trunk, and no wonder, for it was <i>inside the hut</i>. He had thrust it +through the roof, and, attracted no doubt by the smell of the mealies, was +groping about with it inside. It was growing light now, and I got my rifle +ready, when suddenly there was a most awful yell, and I saw the trunk reappear, +and in its mighty fold the old woman who had been sleeping in the hut. Out she +came through the hole like a periwinkle on the point of a pin, still wrapped up +in her blanket, and with her skinny arms and legs stretched to the four points +of the compass, and as she did so, gave that most alarming screech. I really +don’t know who was the most frightened, she, or I, or the elephant. At +any rate the last was considerably startled; he had been fishing for +mealies—the old woman was a mere accident, and one that greatly +discomposed his nerves. He gave a sort of trumpet, and threw her away from him +right into the crown of a low mimosa tree, where she stuck shrieking like a +metropolitan engine. The old bull lifted his tail, and flapping his great ears +prepared for flight. I put up my eight-bore, and aiming hastily at the point of +his shoulder (for he was broadside on), I fired. The report rang out like +thunder, making a thousand echoes in the quiet hills. I saw him go down all of +a heap as though he were stone dead. Then, alas! whether it was the kick of the +heavy rifle, or the excited bump of that idiot Gobo, or both together, or +merely an unhappy coincidence, I do not know, but the rotten beam broke and I +went down too, landing flat at the foot of the tree upon a certain humble +portion of the human frame. The shock was so severe that I felt as though all +my teeth were flying through the roof of my mouth, but although I sat slightly +stunned for a few seconds, luckily for me I fell light, and was not in any way +injured. +</p> + +<p> +“Meanwhile the elephant began to scream with fear and fury, and, +attracted by his cries, the other two charged up. I felt for my rifle; it was +not there. Then I remembered that I had rested it on a fork of the bough in +order to fire, and doubtless there it remained. My position was now very +unpleasant. I did not dare to try and climb the tree again, which, shaken as I +was, would have been a task of some difficulty, because the elephants would +certainly see me, and Gobo, who had clung to a bough, was still aloft with the +other rifle. I could not run because there was no shelter near. Under these +circumstances I did the only thing feasible, clambered round the trunk as +softly as possible, and keeping one eye on the elephants, whispered to Gobo to +bring down the rifle, and awaited the development of the situation. I knew that +if the elephants did not see me—which, luckily, they were too enraged to +do—they would not smell me, for I was up-wind. Gobo, however, either did +not, or, preferring the safety of the tree, would not hear me. He said the +former, but I believed the latter, for I knew that he was not enough of a +sportsman to really enjoy shooting elephants by moonlight in the open. So there +I was behind my tree, dismayed, unarmed, but highly interested, for I was +witnessing a remarkable performance. +</p> + +<p> +“When the two other bulls arrived the wounded elephant on the ground +ceased to scream, but began to make a low moaning noise, and to gently touch +the wound near his shoulder, from which the blood was literally spouting. The +other two seemed to understand; at any rate, they did this. Kneeling down on +either side, they placed their trunks and tusks underneath him, and, aided by +his own efforts, with one great lift got him on to his feet. Then leaning +against him on either side to support him, they marched off at a walk in the +direction of the village.[*] It was a pitiful sight, and even then it made me +feel a brute. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +[*] The Editor would have been inclined to think that in relating this incident +Mr. Quatermain was making himself interesting at the expense of the exact +truth, did it not happen that a similar incident has come within his +knowledge.—Editor. +</p> + +<p> +“Presently, from a walk, as the wounded elephant gathered himself +together a little, they broke into a trot, and after that I could follow them +no longer with my eyes, for the second black cloud came up over the moon and +put her out, as an extinguisher puts out a dip. I say with my eyes, but my ears +gave me a very fair notion of what was going on. When the cloud came up the +three terrified animals were heading directly for the kraal, probably because +the way was open and the path easy. I fancy that they grew confused in the +darkness, for when they came to the kraal fence they did not turn aside, but +crashed straight through it. Then there were ‘times,’ as the Irish +servant-girl says in the American book. Having taken the fence, they thought +that they might as well take the kraal also, so they just ran over it. One +hive-shaped hut was turned quite over on to its top, and when I arrived upon +the scene the people who had been sleeping there were bumbling about inside +like bees disturbed at night, while two more were crushed flat, and a third had +all its side torn out. Oddly enough, however, nobody was hurt, though several +people had a narrow escape of being trodden to death. +</p> + +<p> +“On arrival I found the old head man in a state painfully like that +favoured by Greek art, dancing about in front of his ruined abodes as +vigorously as though he had just been stung by a scorpion. +</p> + +<p> +“I asked him what ailed him, and he burst out into a flood of abuse. He +called me a Wizard, a Sham, a Fraud, a Bringer of bad luck! I had promised to +kill the elephants, and I had so arranged things that the elephants had nearly +killed him, etc. +</p> + +<p> +“This, still smarting, or rather aching, as I was from that most terrific +bump, was too much for my feelings, so I just made a rush at my friend, and +getting him by the ear, I banged his head against the doorway of his own hut, +which was all that was left of it. +</p> + +<p> +“‘You wicked old scoundrel,’ I said, ‘you dare to +complain about your own trifling inconveniences, when you gave me a rotten beam +to sit on, and thereby delivered me to the fury of the elephant’ +(<i>bump! bump! bump!</i>), ‘when your own wife’ (<i>bump!</i>) +‘has just been dragged out of her hut’ (<i>bump!</i>) ‘like a +snail from its shell, and thrown by the Earth-shaker into a tree’ +(<i>bump! bump!</i>). +</p> + +<p> +“‘Mercy, my father, mercy!’ gasped the old fellow. +‘Truly I have done amiss—my heart tells me so.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I should hope it did, you old villain’ (<i>bump!</i>). +</p> + +<p> +“‘Mercy, great white man! I thought the log was sound. But what +says the unequalled chief—is the old woman, my wife, indeed dead? Ah, if +she is dead all may yet prove to have been for the very best;’ and he +clasped his hands and looked up piously to heaven, in which the moon was once +more shining brightly. +</p> + +<p> +“I let go his ear and burst out laughing, the whole scene and his devout +aspirations for the decease of the partner of his joys, or rather woes, were so +intensely ridiculous. +</p> + +<p> +“‘No, you old iniquity,’ I answered; ‘I left her in the +top of a thorn-tree, screaming like a thousand bluejays. The elephant put her +there.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Alas! alas!’ he said, ‘surely the back of the ox is +shaped to the burden. Doubtless, my father, she will come down when she is +tired;’ and without troubling himself further about the matter, he began +to blow at the smouldering embers of the fire. +</p> + +<p> +“And, as a matter of fact, she did appear a few minutes later, +considerably scratched and startled, but none the worse. +</p> + +<p> +“After that I made my way to my little camp, which, fortunately, the +elephants had not walked over, and wrapping myself up in a blanket, was soon +fast asleep. +</p> + +<p> +“And so ended my first round with those three elephants.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap04"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /> +THE LAST ROUND</h2> + +<p> +“On the morrow I woke up full of painful recollections, and not without a +certain feeling of gratitude to the Powers above that I was there to wake up. +Yesterday had been a tempestuous day; indeed, what between buffalo, rhinoceros, +and elephant, it had been very tempestuous. Having realized this fact, I next +bethought me of those magnificent tusks, and instantly, early as it was, broke +the tenth commandment. I coveted my neighbour’s tusks, if an elephant +could be said to be my neighbour <i>de jure</i>, as certainly, so recently as +the previous night, he had been <i>de facto</i>—a much closer neighbour +than I cared for, indeed. Now when you covet your neighbour’s goods, the +best thing, if not the most moral thing, to do is to enter his house as a +strong man armed, and take them. I was not a strong man, but having recovered +my eight-bore I was armed, and so was the other strong man—the elephant +with the tusks. Consequently I prepared for a struggle to the death. In other +words, I summoned my faithful retainers, and told them that I was now going to +follow those elephants to the edge of the world, if necessary. They showed a +certain bashfulness about the business, but they did not gainsay me, because +they dared not. Ever since I had prepared with all due solemnity to execute the +rebellious Gobo they had conceived a great respect for me. +</p> + +<p> +“So I went up to bid adieu to the old head man, whom I found alternately +contemplating the ruins of his kraal and, with the able assistance of his last +wife, thrashing the jealous lady who had slept in the mealie hut, because she +was, as he declared, the fount of all his sorrows. +</p> + +<p> +“Leaving them to work a way through their domestic differences, I levied +a supply of vegetable food from the kraal in consideration of services +rendered, and left them with my blessing. I do not know how they settled +matters, because I have not seen them since. +</p> + +<p> +“Then I started on the spoor of the three bulls. For a couple of miles or +so below the kraal—as far, indeed, as the belt of swamp that borders the +river—the ground is at this spot rather stony, and clothed with scattered +bushes. Rain had fallen towards the daybreak, and this fact, together with the +nature of the soil, made spooring a very difficult business. The wounded bull +had indeed bled freely, but the rain had washed the blood off the leaves and +grass, and the ground being so rough and hard did not take the footmarks so +clearly as was convenient. However, we got along, though slowly, partly by the +spoor, and partly by carefully lifting leaves and blades of grass, and finding +blood underneath them, for the blood gushing from a wounded animal often falls +upon their inner surfaces, and then, of course, unless the rain is very heavy, +it is not washed away. It took us something over an hour and a half to reach +the edge of the marsh, but once there our task became much easier, for the soft +soil showed plentiful evidences of the great brutes’ passage. Threading +our way through the swampy land, we came at last to a ford of the river, and +here we could see where the poor wounded animal had lain down in the mud and +water in the hope of easing himself of his pain, and could see also how his two +faithful companions had assisted him to rise again. We crossed the ford, and +took up the spoor on the further side, and followed it into the marsh-like land +beyond. No rain had fallen on this side of the river, and the blood-marks were +consequently much more frequent. +</p> + +<p> +“All that day we followed the three bulls, now across open plains, and +now through patches of bush. They seemed to have travelled on almost without +stopping, and I noticed that as they went the wounded bull recovered his +strength a little. This I could see from his spoor, which had become firmer, +and also from the fact that the other two had ceased to support him. At last +evening closed in, and having travelled some eighteen miles, we camped, +thoroughly tired out. +</p> + +<p> +“Before dawn on the following day we were up, and the first break of +light found us once more on the spoor. About half-past five o’clock we +reached the place where the elephants had fed and slept. The two unwounded +bulls had taken their fill, as the condition of the neighbouring bushes showed, +but the wounded one had eaten nothing. He had spent the night leaning against a +good-sized tree, which his weight had pushed out of the perpendicular. They had +not long left this place, and could not be very far ahead, especially as the +wounded bull was now again so stiff after his night’s rest that for the +first few miles the other two had been obliged to support him. But elephants go +very quick, even when they seem to be travelling slowly, for shrub and creepers +that almost stop a man’s progress are no hindrance to them. The three had +now turned to the left, and were travelling back again in a semicircular line +toward the mountains, probably with the idea of working round to their old +feeding grounds on the further side of the river. +</p> + +<p> +“There was nothing for it but to follow their lead, and accordingly we +followed with industry. Through all that long hot day did we tramp, passing +quantities of every sort of game, and even coming across the spoor of other +elephants. But, in spite of my men’s entreaties, I would not turn aside +after these. I would have those mighty tusks or none. +</p> + +<p> +“By evening we were quite close to our game, probably within a quarter of +a mile, but the bush was dense, and we could see nothing of them, so once more +we must camp, thoroughly disgusted with our luck. That night, just after the +moon rose, while I was sitting smoking my pipe with my back against a tree, I +heard an elephant trumpet, as though something had startled it, and not three +hundred yards away. I was very tired, but my curiosity overcame my weariness, +so, without saying a word to any of the men, all of whom were asleep, I took my +eight-bore and a few spare cartridges, and steered toward the sound. The game +path which we had been following all day ran straight on in the direction from +which the elephant had trumpeted. It was narrow, but well trodden, and the +light struck down upon it in a straight white line. I crept along it cautiously +for some two hundred yards, when it opened suddenly into a most beautiful glade +some hundred yards or more in width, wherein tall grass grew and flat-topped +trees stood singly. With the caution born of long experience I watched for a +few moments before I entered the glade, and then I saw why the elephant had +trumpeted. There in the middle of the glade stood a large maned lion. He stood +quite still, making a soft purring noise, and waving his tail to and fro. +Presently the grass about forty yards on the hither side of him gave a wide +ripple, and a lioness sprang out of it like a flash, and bounded noiselessly up +to the lion. Reaching him, the great cat halted suddenly, and rubbed her head +against his shoulder. Then they both began to purr loudly, so loudly that I +believe that in the stillness one might have heard them two hundred yards or +more away. +</p> + +<p> +“After a time, while I was still hesitating what to do, either they got a +whiff of my wind, or they wearied of standing still, and determined to start in +search of game. At any rate, as though moved by a common impulse, they bounded +suddenly away, leap by leap, and vanished in the depths of the forest to the +left. I waited for a little while longer to see if there were any more yellow +skins about, and seeing none, came to the conclusion that the lions must have +frightened the elephants away, and that I had taken my stroll for nothing. But +just as I was turning back I thought that I heard a bough break upon the +further side of the glade, and, rash as the act was, I followed the sound. I +crossed the glade as silently as my own shadow. On its further side the path +went on. Albeit with many fears, I went on too. The jungle growth was so thick +here that it almost met overhead, leaving so small a passage for the light that +I could scarcely see to grope my way along. Presently, however, it widened, and +then opened into a second glade slightly smaller than the first, and there, on +the further side of it, about eighty yards from me, stood the three enormous +elephants. +</p> + +<p> +“They stood thus:—Immediately opposite and facing me was the +wounded one-tusked bull. He was leaning his bulk against a dead thorn-tree, the +only one in the place, and looked very sick indeed. Near him stood the second +bull as though keeping a watch over him. The third elephant was a good deal +nearer to me and broadside on. While I was still staring at them, this elephant +suddenly walked off and vanished down a path in the bush to the right. +</p> + +<p> +“There are now two things to be done—either I could go back to the +camp and advance upon the elephants at dawn, or I could attack them at once. +The first was, of course, by far the wiser and safer course. To engage one +elephant by moonlight and single-handed is a sufficiently rash proceeding; to +tackle three was little short of lunacy. But, on the other hand, I knew that +they would be on the march again before daylight, and there might come another +day of weary trudging before I could catch them up, or they might escape me +altogether. +</p> + +<p> +“‘No,’ I thought to myself, ‘faint heart never won fair +tusk. I’ll risk it, and have a slap at them. But how?’ I could not +advance across the open, for they would see me; clearly the only thing to do +was to creep round in the shadow of the bush and try to come upon them so. So I +started. Seven or eight minutes of careful stalking brought me to the mouth of +the path down which the third elephant had walked. The other two were now about +fifty yards from me, and the nature of the wall of bush was such that I could +not see how to get nearer to them without being discovered. I hesitated, and +peeped down the path which the elephant had followed. About five yards in, it +took a turn round a shrub. I thought that I would just have a look behind it, +and advanced, expecting that I should be able to catch a sight of the +elephant’s tail. As it happened, however, I met his trunk coming round +the corner. It is very disconcerting to see an elephant’s trunk when you +expect to see his tail, and for a moment I stood paralyzed almost under the +vast brute’s head, for he was not five yards from me. He too halted, +threw up his trunk and trumpeted preparatory to a charge. I was in for it now, +for I could not escape either to the right or left, on account of the bush, and +I did not dare turn my back. So I did the only thing that I could +do—raised the rifle and fired at the black mass of his chest. It was too +dark for me to pick a shot; I could only brown him, as it were. +</p> + +<p> +“The shot rung out like thunder on the quiet air, and the elephant +answered it with a scream, then dropped his trunk and stood for a second or two +as still as though he had been cut in stone. I confess that I lost my head; I +ought to have fired my second barrel, but I did not. Instead of doing so, I +rapidly opened my rifle, pulled out the old cartridge from the right barrel and +replaced it. But before I could snap the breech to, the bull was at me. I saw +his great trunk fly up like a brown beam, and I waited no longer. Turning, I +fled for dear life, and after me thundered the elephant. Right into the open +glade I ran, and then, thank Heaven, just as he was coming up with me the +bullet took effect on him. He had been shot right through the heart, or lungs, +and down he fell with a crash, stone dead. +</p> + +<p> +“But in escaping from Scylla I had run into the jaws of Charybdis. I +heard the elephant fall, and glanced round. Straight in front of me, and not +fifteen paces away, were the other two bulls. They were staring about, and at +that moment they caught sight of me. Then they came, the pair of +them—came like thunderbolts, and from different angles. I had only time +to snap my rifle to, lift it, and fire, almost at haphazard, at the head of the +nearest, the unwounded bull. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, as you know, in the case of the African elephant, whose skull is +convex, and not concave like that of the Indian, this is always a most risky +and very frequently a perfectly useless shot. The bullet loses itself in the +masses of bone, that is all. But there is one little vital place, and should +the bullet happen to strike there, it will follow the channel of the +nostrils—at least I suppose it is that of the nostrils—and reach +the brain. And this was what happened in the present case—the ball struck +the fatal spot in the region of the eye and travelled to the brain. Down came +the great bull all of a heap, and rolled on to his side as dead as a stone. I +swung round at that instant to face the third, the monster bull with one tusk +that I had wounded two days before. He was already almost over me, and in the +dim moonlight seemed to tower above me like a house. I lifted the rifle and +pulled at his neck. It would not go off! Then, in a flash, as it were, I +remembered that it was on the half-cock. The lock of this barrel was a little +weak, and a few days before, in firing at a cow eland, the left barrel had +jarred off at the shock of the discharge of the right, knocking me backwards +with the recoil; so after that I had kept it on the half-cock till I actually +wanted to fire it. +</p> + +<p> +“I gave one desperate bound to the right, and, my lame leg +notwithstanding, I believe that few men could have made a better jump. At any +rate, it was none too soon, for as I jumped I felt the wind made by the +tremendous downward stroke of the monster’s trunk. Then I ran for it. +</p> + +<p> +“I ran like a buck, still keeping hold of my gun, however. My idea, so +far as I could be said to have any fixed idea, was to bolt down the pathway up +which I had come, like a rabbit down a burrow, trusting that he would lose +sight of me in the uncertain light. I sped across the glade. Fortunately the +bull, being wounded, could not go full speed; but wounded or no, he could go +quite as fast as I could. I was unable to gain an inch, and away we went, with +just about three feet between our separate extremities. We were at the other +side now, and a glance served to show me that I had miscalculated and overshot +the opening. To reach it now was hopeless; I should have blundered straight +into the elephant. So I did the only thing I could do: I swerved like a course +hare, and started off round the edge of the glade, seeking for some opening +into which I could plunge. This gave me a moment’s start, for the bull +could not turn as quickly as I could, and I made the most of it. But no opening +could I see; the bush was like a wall. We were speeding round the edge of the +glade, and the elephant was coming up again. Now he was within about six feet, +and now, as he trumpeted or rather screamed, I could feel the fierce hot blast +of his breath strike upon my head. Heavens! how it frightened me! +</p> + +<p> +“We were three parts round the glade now, and about fifty yards ahead was +the single large dead thorn-tree against which the bull had been leaning. I +spurted for it; it was my last chance of safety. But spurt as I would, it +seemed hours before I got there. Putting out my right hand, I swung round the +tree, thus bringing myself face to face with the elephant. I had not time to +lift the rifle to fire, I had barely time to cock it, and run sideways and +backward, when he was on to me. Crash! he came, striking the tree full with his +forehead. It snapped like a carrot about forty inches from the ground. +Fortunately I was clear of the trunk, but one of the dead branches struck me on +the chest as it went down and swept me to the ground. I fell upon my back, and +the elephant blundered past me as I lay. More by instinct than anything else I +lifted the rifle with one hand and pulled the trigger. It exploded, and, as I +discovered afterwards, the bullet struck him in the ribs. But the recoil of the +heavy rifle held thus was very severe; it bent my arm up, and sent the butt +with a thud against the top of my shoulder and the side of my neck, for the +moment quite paralyzing me, and causing the weapon to jump from my grasp. +Meanwhile the bull was rushing on. He travelled for some twenty paces, and then +suddenly he stopped. Faintly I reflected that he was coming back to finish me, +but even the prospect of imminent and dreadful death could not rouse me into +action. I was utterly spent; I could not move. +</p> + +<p> +“Idly, almost indifferently, I watched his movements. For a moment he +stood still, next he trumpeted till the welkin rang, and then very slowly, and +with great dignity, he knelt down. At this point I swooned away. +</p> + +<p> +“When I came to myself again I saw from the moon that I must have been +insensible for quite two hours. I was drenched with dew, and shivering all +over. At first I could not think where I was, when, on lifting my head, I saw +the outline of the one-tusked bull still kneeling some five-and-twenty paces +from me. Then I remembered. Slowly I raised myself, and was instantly taken +with a violent sickness, the result of over-exertion, after which I very nearly +fainted a second time. Presently I grew better, and considered the position. +Two of the elephants were, as I knew, dead; but how about No. 3? There he knelt +in majesty in the lonely moonlight. The question was, was he resting, or dead? +I rose on my hands and knees, loaded my rifle, and painfully crept a few paces +nearer. I could see his eye now, for the moonlight fell full upon it—it +was open, and rather prominent. I crouched and watched; the eyelid did not +move, nor did the great brown body, or the trunk, or the ear, or the +tail—nothing moved. Then I knew that he must be dead. +</p> + +<p> +“I crept up to him, still keeping the rifle well forward, and gave him a +thump, reflecting as I did so how very near I had been to being thumped instead +of thumping. He never stirred; certainly he was dead, though to this day I do +not know if it was my random shot that killed him, or if he died from +concussion of the brain consequent upon the tremendous shock of his contact +with the tree. Anyhow, there he was. Cold and beautiful he lay, or rather +knelt, as the poet neatly puts it. Indeed, I do not think that I have ever seen +a sight more imposing in its way than that of the mighty beast crouched in +majestic death, and shone upon by the lonely moon. +</p> + +<p> +“While I stood admiring the scene, and heartily congratulating myself +upon my escape, once more I began to feel sick. Accordingly, without waiting to +examine the other two bulls, I staggered back to the camp, which in due course +I reached in safety. Everybody in it was asleep. I did not wake them, but +having swallowed a mouthful of brandy I threw off my coat and shoes, rolled +myself up in a blanket, and was soon fast asleep. +</p> + +<p> +“When I woke it was already light, and at first I thought that, like +Joseph, I had dreamed a dream. At that moment, however, I turned my head, and +quickly knew that it was no dream, for my neck and face were so stiff from the +blow of the butt-end of the rifle that it was agony to move them. I collapsed +for a minute or two. Gobo and another man, wrapped up like a couple of monks in +their blankets, thinking that I was still asleep, were crouched over a little +fire they had made, for the morning was damp and chilly, and holding sweet +converse. +</p> + +<p> +“Gobo said that he was getting tired of running after elephants which +they never caught. Macumazahn (that is, myself) was without doubt a man of +parts, and of some skill in shooting, but also he was a fool. None but a fool +would run so fast and far after elephants which it was impossible to catch, +when they kept cutting the spoor of fresh ones. He certainly was a fool, but he +must not be allowed to continue in his folly; and he, Gobo, had determined to +put a stop to it. He should refuse to accompany him any further on so mad a +hunt. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Yes,’ the other answered, ‘the poor man certainly was +sick in his head, and it was quite time that they checked his folly while they +still had a patch of skin left upon their feet. Moreover, he for his part +certainly did not like this country of Wambe’s, which really was full of +ghosts. Only the last night he had heard the spooks at work—they were out +shooting, at least it sounded as though they were. It was very queer, but +perhaps their lunatic of a master——’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Gobo, you scoundrel!’ I shouted out at this juncture, +sitting bolt upright on the blankets, ‘stop idling there and make me some +coffee.’ +</p> + +<p> +“Up sprang Gobo and his friend, and in half a moment were respectfully +skipping about in a manner that contrasted well with the lordly contempt of +their previous conversation. But all the time they were in earnest in what they +said about hunting the elephants any further, for before I had finished my +coffee they came to me in a body, and said that if I wanted to follow those +elephants I must follow them myself, for they would not go. +</p> + +<p> +“I argued with them, and affected to be much put out. The elephants were +close at hand, I said; I was sure of it; I had heard them trumpet in the night. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Yes,’ answered the men mysteriously, ‘they too had +heard things in the night, things not nice to hear; they had heard the spooks +out shooting, and no longer would they remain in a country so vilely +haunted.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘It was nonsense,’ I replied. ‘If ghosts went out +shooting, surely they would use air-guns and not black powder, and one would +not hear an air-gun. Well, if they were cowards, and would not come, of course +I could not force them to, but I would make a bargain with them. They should +follow those elephants for one half-hour more, then if we failed to come upon +them I would abandon the pursuit, and we would go straight to Wambe, chief of +the Matuku, and give him hongo.’ +</p> + +<p> +“To this compromise the men agreed readily. Accordingly about +half-an-hour later we struck our camp and started, and notwithstanding my aches +and bruises, I do not think that I ever felt in better spirits in my life. It +is something to wake up in the morning and remember that in the dead of the +night, single-handed, one has given battle to and overthrown three of the +largest elephants in Africa, slaying them with three bullets. Such a feat to my +knowledge had never been done before, and on that particular morning I felt a +very ‘tall man of my hands’ indeed. The only thing I feared was, +that should I ever come to tell the story nobody would believe it, for when a +strange tale is told by a hunter, people are apt to think it is necessarily a +lie, instead of being only probably so.[*] +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +[*] For the satisfaction of any who may be so disbelieving as to take this view +of Mr. Quatermain’s story, the Editor may state that a gentleman with +whom he is acquainted, and whose veracity he believes to be beyond doubt, not +long ago described to him how he chanced to kill <i>four</i> African elephants +with four consecutive bullets. Two of these elephants were charging him +simultaneously, and out of the four three were killed with the head shot, a +very uncommon thing in the case of the African elephant.—Editor. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, we passed on till, having crossed the first glade where I had seen +the lions, we reached the neck of bush that separated it from the second glade, +where the dead elephants were. And here I began to take elaborate precautions, +amongst others ordering Gobo to keep some yards ahead and look out sharp, as I +thought that the elephants might be about. He obeyed my instructions with a +superior smile, and pushed ahead. Presently I saw him pull up as though he had +been shot, and begin to snap his fingers faintly. +</p> + +<p> +“‘What is it?’ I whispered. +</p> + +<p> +“‘The elephant, the great elephant with one tusk kneeling +down.’ +</p> + +<p> +“I crept up beside him. There knelt the bull as I had left him last +night, and there too lay the other bulls. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Do these elephants sleep?’ I whispered to the astonished +Gobo. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Yes, Macumazahn, they sleep.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Nay, Gobo, they are dead.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Dead? How can they be dead? Who killed them?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘What do people call me, Gobo?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘They call you Macumazahn.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘And what does Macumazahn mean?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘It means the man who keeps his eyes open, the man who gets up in +the night.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Yes, Gobo, and I am that man. Look, you idle, lazy cowards; while +you slept last night I rose, and alone I hunted those great elephants, and slew +them by the moonlight. To each of them I gave one bullet and only one, and it +fell dead. Look,’ and I advanced into the glade, ‘here is my spoor, +and here is the spoor of the great bull charging after me, and there is the +tree that I took refuge behind; see, the elephant shattered it in his charge. +Oh, you cowards, you who would give up the chase while the blood spoor steamed +beneath your nostrils, see what I did single-handed while you slept, and be +ashamed.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘<i>Ou!</i>’ said the men, ‘<i>ou!</i> Koos! Koos y +umcool!’ (Chief, great Chief!) And then they held their tongues, and +going up to the three dead beasts, gazed upon them in silence. +</p> + +<p> +“But after that those men looked upon me with awe as being almost more +than mortal. No mere man, they said, could have slain those three elephants +alone in the night-time. I never had any further trouble with them. I believe +that if I had told them to jump over a precipice and that they would take no +harm, they would have believed me. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I went up and examined the bulls. Such tusks as they had I never +saw and never shall see again. It took us all day to cut them out; and when +they reached Delagoa Bay, as they did ultimately, though not in my keeping, the +single tusk of the big bull scaled one hundred and sixty pounds, and the four +other tusks averaged ninety-nine and a half pounds—a most wonderful, +indeed an almost unprecedented, lot of ivory.[*] Unfortunately I was forced to +saw the big tusk in two, otherwise we could not have carried it.” +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +[*] The largest elephant tusk of which the Editor has any certain knowledge +scaled one hundred and fifty pounds. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Quatermain, you barbarian!” I broke in here, “the idea +of spoiling such a tusk! Why, I would have kept it whole if I had been obliged +to drag it myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh yes, young man,” he answered, “it is all very well for +you to talk like that, but if you had found yourself in the position which it +was my privilege to occupy a few hours afterwards, it is my belief that you +would have thrown the tusks away altogether and taken to your heels.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh,” said Good, “so that isn’t the end of the yarn? A +very good yarn, Quatermain, by the way—I couldn’t have made up a +better one myself.” +</p> + +<p> +The old gentleman looked at Good severely, for it irritated him to be chaffed +about his stories. +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know what you mean, Good. I don’t see that there is +any comparison between a true story of adventure and the preposterous tales +which you invent about ibex hanging by their horns. No, it is not the end of +the story; the most exciting part is to come. But I have talked enough for +to-night; and if you go on in that way, Good, it will be some time before I +begin again.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sorry I spoke, I’m sure,” said Good, humbly. +“Let’s have a split to show that there is no ill-feeling.” +And they did. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap05"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /> +THE MESSAGE OF MAIWA</h2> + +<p> +On the following evening we once more dined together, and Quatermain, after +some pressure, was persuaded to continue his story—for Good’s +remark still rankled in his breast. +</p> + +<p> +“At last,” he went on, “a few minutes before sunset, the task +was finished. We had laboured at it all day, stopping only once for dinner, for +it is no easy matter to hew out five such tusks as those which now lay before +me in a white and gleaming line. It was a dinner worth eating, too, I can tell +you, for we dined off the heart of the great one-tusked bull, which was so big +that the man whom I sent inside the elephant to look for his heart was forced +to remove it in two pieces. We cut it into slices and fried it with fat, and I +never tasted heart to equal it, for the meat seemed to melt in one’s +mouth. By the way, I examined the jaw of the elephant; it never grew but one +tusk; the other had not been broken off, nor was it present in a rudimentary +form. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, there lay the five beauties, or rather four of them, for Gobo and +another man were engaged in sawing the grand one in two. At last with many +sighs I ordered them to do this, but not until by practical experiment I had +proved that it was impossible to carry it in any other way. One hundred and +sixty pounds of solid ivory, or rather more in its green state, is too great a +weight for two men to bear for long across a broken country. I sat watching the +job and smoking the pipe of contentment, when suddenly the bush opened, and a +very handsome and dignified native girl, apparently about twenty years of age, +stood before me, carrying a basket of green mealies upon her head. +</p> + +<p> +“Although I was rather surprised to see a native girl in such a wild +spot, and, so far as I knew, a long way from any kraal, the matter did not +attract my particular notice; I merely called to one of the men, and told him +to bargain with the woman for the mealies, and ask her if there were any more +to be bought in the neighbourhood. Then I turned my head and continued to +superintend the cutting of the tusk. Presently a shadow fell upon me. I looked +up, and saw that the girl was standing before me, the basket of mealies still +on her head. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Marême, Marême,’ she said, gently clapping her hands +together. The word Marême among these Matuku (though she was no Matuku) answers +to the Zulu ‘Koos,’ and the clapping of hands is a form of +salutation very common among the tribes of the Basutu race. +</p> + +<p> +“‘What is it, girl?’ I asked her in Sisutu. ‘Are those +mealies for sale?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘No, great white hunter,’ she answered in Zulu, ‘I +bring them as a gift.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Good,’ I replied; ‘set them down.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘A gift for a gift, white man.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Ah,’ I grumbled, ‘the old story—nothing for +nothing in this wicked world. What do you want—beads?’ +</p> + +<p> +“She nodded, and I was about to tell one of the men to go and fetch some +from one of the packs, when she checked me. +</p> + +<p> +“‘A gift from the giver’s own hand is twice a gift,’ +she said, and I thought that she spoke meaningly. +</p> + +<p> +“‘You mean that you want me to give them to you myself?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Surely.’ +</p> + +<p> +“I rose to go with her. ‘How is it that, being of the Matuku, you +speak in the Zulu tongue?’ I asked suspiciously. +</p> + +<p> +“‘I am not of the Matuku,’ she answered as soon as we were +out of hearing of the men. ‘I am of the people of Nala, whose tribe is +the Butiana tribe, and who lives there,’ and she pointed over the +mountain. ‘Also I am one of the wives of Wambe,’ and her eyes +flashed as she said the name. +</p> + +<p> +“‘And how did you come here?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘On my feet,’ she answered laconically. +</p> + +<p> +“We reached the packs, and undoing one of them, I extracted a handful of +beads. ‘Now,’ I said, ‘a gift for a gift. Hand over the +mealies.’ +</p> + +<p> +“She took the beads without even looking at them, which struck me as +curious, and setting the basket of mealies on the ground, emptied it. +</p> + +<p> +“At the bottom of the basket were some curiously-shaped green leaves, +rather like the leaves of the gutta-percha tree in shape, only somewhat thicker +and of a more fleshy substance. As though by hazard, the girl picked one of +these leaves out of the basket and smelt it. Then she handed it to me. I took +the leaf, and supposing that she wished me to smell it also, was about to +oblige her by doing so, when my eye fell upon some curious red scratches on the +green surface of the leaf. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Ah,’ said the girl (whose name, by the way, was Maiwa), +speaking beneath her breath, ‘read the signs, white man.’ +</p> + +<p> +“Without answering her I continued to stare at the leaf. It had been +scratched or rather written upon with a sharp tool, such as a nail, and +wherever this instrument had touched it, the acid juice oozing through the +outer skin had turned a rusty blood colour. Presently I found the beginning of +the scrawl, and read this in English, and covering the surface of the leaf and +of two others that were in the basket. +</p> + +<p> +“‘I hear that a white man is hunting in the Matuku country. This is +to warn him to fly over the mountain to Nala. Wambe sends an impi at daybreak +to eat him up, because he has hunted before bringing hongo. For God’s +sake, whoever you are, try to help me. I have been the slave of this devil +Wambe for nearly seven years, and am beaten and tortured continually. He +murdered all the rest of us, but kept me because I could work iron. Maiwa, his +wife, takes this; she is flying to Nala her father because Wambe killed her +child. Try to get Nala to attack Wambe; Maiwa can guide them over the mountain. +You won’t come for nothing, for the stockade of Wambe’s private +kraal is made of elephants’ tusks. For God’s sake, don’t +desert me, or I shall kill myself. I can bear this no longer. +</p> + +<p> +“‘John Every.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Great heavens!’ I gasped. ‘Every!—why, it must +be my old friend.’ The girl, or rather the woman Maiwa, pointed to the +other side of the leaf, where there was more writing. It ran +thus—‘I have just heard that the white man is called Macumazahn. If +so, it must be my friend Quatermain. Pray Heaven it is, for I know he +won’t desert an old chum in such a fix as I am. It isn’t that +I’m afraid of dying, I don’t care if I die, but I want to get a +chance at Wambe first.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘No, old boy,’ thought I to myself, ‘it isn’t +likely that I am going to leave you there while there is a chance of getting +you out. I have played fox before now—there’s still a double or two +left in me. I must make a plan, that’s all. And then there’s that +stockade of tusks. I am not going to leave that either.’ Then I spoke to +the woman. +</p> + +<p> +“‘You are called Maiwa?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘It is so.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘You are the daughter of Nala and the wife of Wambe?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘It is so.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘You fly from Wambe to Nala?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I do.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Why do you fly? Stay, I would give an order,’—and +calling to Gobo, I ordered him to get the men ready for instant departure. The +woman, who, as I have said, was quite young and very handsome, put her hand +into a little pouch made of antelope hide which she wore fastened round the +waist, and to my horror drew from it the withered hand of a child, which +evidently had been carefully dried in the smoke. +</p> + +<p> +“‘I fly for this cause,’ she answered, holding the poor +little hand towards me. ‘See now, I bore a child. Wambe was its father, +and for eighteen months the child lived and I loved it. But Wambe loves not his +children; he kills them all. He fears lest they should grow up to slay one so +wicked, and he would have killed this child also, but I begged its life. One +day, some soldiers passing the hut saw the child and saluted him, calling him +the “chief who soon shall be.” Wambe heard, and was mad. He smote +the babe, and it wept. Then he said that it should weep for good cause. Among +the things that he had stolen from the white men whom he slew is a trap that +will hold lions. So strong is the trap that four men must stand on it, two on +either side, before it can be opened.’” +</p> + +<p> +Here old Quatermain broke off suddenly. +</p> + +<p> +“Look here, you fellows,” he said, “I can’t bear to go +on with this part of the story, because I never could stand either seeing or +talking of the sufferings of children. You can guess what that devil did, and +what the poor mother was forced to witness. Would you believe it, she told me +the tale without a tremor, in the most matter-of-fact way. Only I noticed that +her eyelid quivered all the time. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Well,’ I said, as unconcernedly as though I had been +talking of the death of a lamb, though inwardly I was sick with horror and +boiling with rage, ‘and what do you mean to do about the matter, Maiwa, +wife of Wambe?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I mean to do this, white man,’ she answered, drawing +herself up to her full height, and speaking in tones as hard as steel and cold +as ice—‘I mean to work, and work, and work, to bring this to pass, +and to bring that to pass, until at length it comes to pass that with these +living eyes I behold Wambe dying the death that he gave to his child and my +child.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Well said,’ I answered. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Ay, well said, Macumazahn, well said, and not easily forgotten. +Who could forget, oh, who could forget? See where this dead hand rests against +my side; so once it rested when alive. And now, though it is dead, now every +night it creeps from its nest and strokes my hair and clasps my fingers in its +tiny palm. Every night it does this, fearing lest I should forget. Oh, my +child! my child! ten days ago I held thee to my breast, and now this alone +remains of thee,’ and she kissed the dead hand and shivered, but never a +tear did she weep. +</p> + +<p> +“‘See now,’ she went on, ‘the white man, the prisoner +at Wambe’s kraal, he was kind to me. He loved the child that is dead, +yes, he wept when its father slew it, and at the risk of his life told Wambe, +my husband—ah, yes, my husband!—that which he is! He too it was who +made a plan. He said to me, “Go, Maiwa, after the custom of thy people, +go purify thyself in the bush alone, having touched a dead one. Say to Wambe +thou goest to purify thyself alone for fifteen days, according to the custom of +thy people. Then fly to thy father, Nala, and stir him up to war against Wambe +for the sake of the child that is dead.” This then he said, and his words +seemed good to me, and that same night ere I left to purify myself came news +that a white man hunted in the country, and Wambe, being mad with drink, grew +very wrath, and gave orders that an impi should be gathered to slay the white +man and his people and seize his goods. Then did the “Smiter of +Iron” (Every) write the message on the green leaves, and bid me seek thee +out, and show forth the matter, that thou mightest save thyself by flight; and +behold, this thing have I done, Macumazahn, the hunter, the Slayer of +Elephants.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Ah,’ I said, ‘I thank you. And how many men be there +in the impi of Wambe?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘A hundred of men and half a hundred.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘And where is the impi?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘There to the north. It follows on thy spoor. I saw it pass +yesterday, but myself I guessed that thou wouldst be nigher to the mountain, +and came this way, and found thee. To-morrow at the daybreak the slayers will +be here.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Very possibly,’ I thought to myself; ‘but they +won’t find Macumazahn. I have half a mind to put some strychnine into the +carcases of those elephants for their especial benefit though.’ I knew +that they would stop to eat the elephants, as indeed they did, to our great +gain, but I abandoned the idea of poisoning them, because I was rather short of +strychnine.” +</p> + +<p> +“Or because you did not like to play the trick, Quatermain?” I +suggested with a laugh. +</p> + +<p> +“I said because I had not enough strychnine. It would take a great deal +of strychnine to poison three elephants effectually,” answered the old +gentleman testily. +</p> + +<p> +I said nothing further, but I smiled, knowing that old Allan could never have +resorted to such an artifice, however severe his strait. But that was his way; +he always made himself out to be a most unmerciful person. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” he went on, “at that moment Gobo came up and +announced that we were ready to march. ‘I am glad that you are +ready,’ I said, ‘because if you don’t march, and march quick, +you will never march again, that is all. Wambe has an impi out to kill us, and +it will be here presently.’ +</p> + +<p> +“Gobo turned positively green, and his knees knocked together. ‘Ah, +what did I say?’ he exclaimed. ‘Fate walks about loose in +Wambe’s country.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Very good; now all you have to do is to walk a little quicker +than he does. No, no, you don’t leave those elephant tusks behind—I +am not going to part with them I can tell you.’ +</p> + +<p> +“Gobo said no more, but hastily directed the men to take up their loads, +and then asked which way we were to run. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Ah,’ I said to Maiwa, ‘which way?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘There,’ she answered, pointing towards the great mountain +spur which towered up into the sky some forty miles away, separating the +territories of Nala and Wambe—‘there, below that small peak, is one +place where men may pass, and one only. Also it can easily be blocked from +above. If men pass not there, then they must go round the great peak of the +mountain, two days’ journey and half a day.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘And how far is the peak from us?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘All to-night shall you walk and all to-morrow, and if you walk +fast, at sunset you shall stand on the peak.’ +</p> + +<p> +“I whistled, for that meant a five-and-forty miles trudge without sleep. +Then I called to the men to take each of them as much cooked elephant’s +meat as he could carry conveniently. I did the same myself, and forced the +woman Maiwa to eat some as we went. This I did with difficulty, for at that +time she seemed neither to sleep nor eat nor rest, so fiercely was she set on +vengeance. +</p> + +<p> +“Then we started, Maiwa guiding us. After going for a half-hour over +gradually rising ground, we found ourselves on the further edge of a great +bush-clad depression something like the bottom of a lake. This depression, +through which we had been travelling, was covered with bush to a very great +extent, indeed almost altogether so, except where it was pitted with glades +such as that wherein I had shot the elephants. +</p> + +<p> +“At the top of this slope Maiwa halted, and putting her hand over her +eyes looked back. Presently she touched me on the arm and pointed across the +sea of forest towards a comparatively vacant space of country some six or seven +miles away. I looked, and suddenly I saw something flash in the red rays of the +setting sun. A pause, and then another quick flash. +</p> + +<p> +“‘What is it?’ I asked. +</p> + +<p> +“‘It is the spears of Wambe’s impi, and they travel +fast,’ she answered coolly. +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose that my face showed how little I liked the news, for she went +on— +</p> + +<p> +“‘Fear not; they will stay to feast upon the elephants, and while +they feast we shall journey. We may yet escape.’ +</p> + +<p> +“After that we turned and pushed on again, till at length it grew so dark +that we had to wait for the rising of the moon, which lost us time, though it +gave us rest. Fortunately none of the men had seen that ominous flashing of the +spears; if they had, I doubt if even I could have kept control of them. As it +was, they travelled faster than I had ever known loaded natives to go before, +so thorough-paced was their desire to see the last of Wambe’s country. I, +however, took the precaution to march last of all, fearing lest they should +throw away their loads to lighten themselves, or, worse still, the tusks; for +these kind of fellows would be capable of throwing anything away if their own +skins were at stake. If the pious Æneas, whose story you were reading to me the +other night, had been a mongrel Delagoa Bay native, Anchises would have had a +poor chance of getting out of Troy, that is, if he was known to have made a +satisfactory will. +</p> + +<p> +“At moonrise we set out again, and with short occasional halts travelled +till dawn, when we were forced to rest and eat. Starting once more, about +half-past five, we crossed the river at noon. Then began the long toilsome +ascent through thick bush, the same in which I shot the bull buffalo, only some +twenty miles to the west of that spot, and not more than twenty-five miles on +the hither side of Wambe’s kraal. There were six or seven miles of this +dense bush, and hard work it was to get through it. Next came a belt of +scattered forest which was easier to pass, though, in revenge, the ground was +steeper. This was about two miles wide, and we passed it by about four in the +afternoon. Above this scattered bush lay a long steep slope of boulder-strewn +ground, which ran up to the foot of the little peak some three miles away. As +we emerged, footsore and weary, on to this inhospitable plain, some of the men +looking round caught sight of the spears of Wambe’s impi advancing +rapidly not more than a mile behind us. +</p> + +<p> +“At first there was a panic, and the bearers tried to throw off their +loads and run, but I harangued them, calling out to them that certainly I would +shoot the first man who did so and that if they would but trust in me I would +bring them through the mess. Now, ever since I had killed those three elephants +single-handed, I had gained great influence over these men, and they listened +to me. So off we went as hard as ever we could go—the members of the +Alpine Club would not have been in it with us. We made the boulders burn, as a +Frenchman would say. +</p> + +<p> +“When we had done about a mile the spears began to emerge from the belt +of scattered bush, and the whoop of their bearers as they viewed us broke upon +our ears. Quick as our pace had been before, it grew much quicker now, for +terror lent wings to my gallant crew. But they were sorely tired, and the loads +were heavy, so that run, or rather climb, as we would, Wambe’s soldiers, +a scrubby-looking lot of men armed with big spears and small shields, but +without plumes, climbed considerably faster. The last mile of that pleasing +chase was like a fox hunt, we being the fox, and always in view. What +astonished me was the extraordinary endurance and activity shown by Maiwa. She +never even flagged. I think that girl’s muscles must have been made of +iron, or perhaps it was the strength of her will that supported her. At any +rate she reached the foot of the peak second, poor Gobo, who was an excellent +hand at running away, being first. +</p> + +<p> +“Presently I came up panting, and glanced at the ascent. Before us was a +wall of rock about one hundred and fifty feet in height, upon which the strata +were laid so as to form a series of projections sufficiently resembling steps +to make the ascent easy, comparatively speaking, except at one spot, where it +was necessary to climb over a projecting angle of cliff and bear a little to +the left. It was not a really difficult place, but what made it awkward was, +that immediately beneath this projection gaped a deep fissure or donga, on the +brink of which we now stood, originally dug out, no doubt, by the rush of water +from the peak and cliff. This gulf beneath would be trying to the nerves of a +weak-headed climber at the critical point, and so it proved in the result. The +projecting angle once passed, the remainder of the ascent was very simple. At +the summit, however, the brow of the cliff hung over and was pierced by a +single narrow path cut through it by water, in such fashion that a single +boulder rolled into it at the top would make the cliff quite impassable to men +without ropes. +</p> + +<p> +“At this moment Wambe’s soldiers were about a thousand yards from +us, so it was evident that we had no time to lose. I at once ordered the men to +commence the ascent, the girl Maiwa, who was familiar with the pass, going +first to show them the way. Accordingly they began to mount with alacrity, +pushing and lifting their loads in front of them. When the first of them, led +by Maiwa, reached the projecting angle, they put down their loads upon a ledge +of rock and clambered over. Once there, by lying on their stomachs upon a +boulder, they could reach the loads which were held to them by the men beneath, +and in this way drag them over the awkward place, whence they were carried +easily to the top. +</p> + +<p> +“But all of this took time, and meanwhile the soldiers were coming up +fast, screaming and brandishing their big spears. They were now within about +four hundred yards, and several loads, together with all the tusks, had yet to +be got over the rock. I was still standing at the bottom of the cliff, shouting +directions to the men above, but it occurred to me that it would soon be time +to move. Before doing so, however, I thought that it might be well to try and +produce a moral effect upon the advancing enemy. In my hand I held a Winchester +repeating carbine, but the distance was too great for me to use it with effect, +so I turned to Gobo, who was shivering with terror at my side, and handing him +the carbine, took my express from him. +</p> + +<p> +“The enemy was now about three hundred and fifty yards away, and the +express was only sighted to three hundred. Still I knew that it could be +trusted for the extra fifty yards. Running in front of Wambe’s soldiers +were two men—captains, I suppose—one of them very tall. I put up +the three hundred yard flap, and sitting down with my back against the rock, I +drew a long breath to steady myself, and covered the tall man, giving him a +full sight. Feeling that I was on him, I pulled, and before the sound of the +striking bullet could reach my ears, I saw the man throw up his arms and pitch +forward on to his head. His companion stopped dead, giving me a fair chance. I +rapidly covered him, and fired the left barrel. He turned round once, and then +sank down in a heap. This caused the enemy to hesitate—they had never +seen men killed at such a distance before, and thought that there was something +uncanny about the performance. Taking advantage of the lull, I gave the express +back to Gobo, and slinging the Winchester repeater over my back I began to +climb the cliff. +</p> + +<p> +“When we reached the projecting angle all the loads were over, but the +tusks still had to be passed up, and owing to their weight and the smoothness +of their surface, this was a very difficult task. Of course I ought to have +abandoned the tusks; often and often have I since reproached myself for not +doing so. Indeed, I think that my obstinacy about them was downright sinful, +but I was always obstinate about such things, and I could not bear the idea of +leaving those splendid tusks which had cost me so much pains and danger to come +by. Well, it nearly cost me my life also, and did cost poor Gobo his, as will +be seen shortly, to say nothing of the loss inflicted by my rifle on the enemy. +When I reached the projection I found that the men, with their usual stupidity, +were trying to hand up the tusks point first. Now the result of this was that +those above had nothing to grip except the round polished surface of the ivory, +and in the position in which they were, this did not give them sufficient hold +to enable them to lift the weight. I told them to reverse the tusks and push +them up, so that the rough and hollow ends came to the hands of the men above. +This they did, and the first two were dragged up in safety. +</p> + +<p> +“At this point, looking behind me, I saw the Matukus streaming up the +slope in a rough extended order, and not more than a hundred yards away. +Cocking the Winchester I turned and opened fire on them. I don’t quite +know how many I missed, but I do know that I never shot better in my life. I +had to keep shifting myself from one enemy to the other, firing almost without +getting a sight, that is, by the eye alone, after the fashion of the experts +who break glass balls. But quick as the work was, men fell thick, and by the +time that I had emptied the carbine of its twelve cartridges, for the moment +the advance was checked. I rapidly pushed in some more cartridges, and hardly +had I done so when the enemy, seeing that we were about to escape them +altogether, came on once more with a tremendous yell. By this time the two +halves of the single tusk of the great bull alone remained to be passed up. I +fired and fired as effectively as before, but notwithstanding all that I could +do, some men escaped my hail of bullets and began to ascend the cliff. +Presently my rifle was again empty. I slung it over my back, and, drawing my +revolver, turned to run for it, the attackers being now quite close. As I did +so, a spear struck the cliff close to my head. +</p> + +<p> +“The last half of the tusk was now vanishing over the rock, and I sung +out to Gobo and the other man who had been pushing it up to vanish after it. +Gobo, poor fellow, required no second invitation; indeed, his haste was his +undoing. He went at the projecting rock with a bound. The end of the tusk was +still hanging over, and instead of grasping the rock he caught at it. It +twisted in his hand—he slipped—he fell; with one wild shriek he +vanished into the abyss beneath, his falling body brushing me as it passed. For +a moment we stood aghast, and presently the dull thud of his fall smote heavily +upon our ears. Poor fellow, he had met the Fate which, as he declared, walked +about loose in Wambe’s country. Then with an oath the remaining man +sprung at the rock and clambered over it in safety. Aghast at the awfulness of +what had happened, I stood still, till I saw the great blade of a Matuku spear +pass up between my feet. That brought me to my senses, and I began to clamber +up the rock like a cat. I was half way round it. Already I had clasped the hand +of that brave girl Maiwa, who came down to help me, the men having scrambled +forward with the ivory, when I felt some one seize my ankle. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Pull, Maiwa, pull,’ I gasped, and she certainly did pull. +Maiwa was a very muscular woman, and never before did I appreciate the +advantages of the physical development of females so keenly. She tugged at my +left arm, the savage below tugged at my right leg, till I began to realize that +something must give way ere long. Luckily I retained my presence of mind, like +the man who threw his mother-in-law out of the window, and carried the mattress +down-stairs, when a fire broke out in his house. My right hand was still free, +and in it I held my revolver, which was secured to my wrist by a leather thong. +The pistol was cocked, and I simply pointed it downwards and fired. The result +was instantaneous—and so far as I am concerned, most satisfactory. The +bullet hit the man beneath me somewhere, I am sure I don’t know where; at +any rate, he let go of my leg and plunged headlong into the gulf beneath to +join Gobo. In another moment I was on the top of the rock, and going up the +remaining steps like a lamplighter. A single other soldier appeared in pursuit, +but one of my boys at the top fired my elephant gun at him. I don’t know +if he hit him or only frightened him; at any rate, he vanished whence he came. +I do know, however, that he very nearly hit <i>me</i>, for I felt the wind of +the bullet. +</p> + +<p> +“Another thirty seconds, and I and the woman Maiwa were at the top of the +cliff panting, but safe. +</p> + +<p> +“My men, being directed thereto by Maiwa, had most fortunately rolled up +some big boulders which lay about, and with these we soon managed to block the +passage through the overhanging ridge of rock in such fashion that the soldiers +below could not possibly climb over it. Indeed, so far as I could see, they did +not even try to do so—their heart was turned to fat, as the Zulus say. +</p> + +<p> +“Then having rested a few moments we took up the loads, including the +tusks of ivory that had cost us so dear, and in silence marched on for a couple +of miles or more, till we reached a patch of dense bush. And here, being +utterly exhausted, we camped for the night, taking the precaution, however, of +setting a guard to watch against any attempt at surprise.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap06"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /> +THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN</h2> + +<p> +“Notwithstanding all that we had gone through, perhaps indeed on account +of it, for I was thoroughly worn out, I slept that night as soundly as poor +Gobo, round whose crushed body the hyænas would now be prowling. Rising +refreshed at dawn we went on our way towards Nala’s kraal, which we +reached at nightfall. It is built on open ground after the Zulu fashion, in a +ring fence and with beehive huts. The cattle kraal is behind and a little to +the left. Indeed, both from their habits and their talk it was easy to see that +these Butiana belong to that section of the Bantu people which, since +T’Chaka’s time, has been known as the Zulu race. We did not see the +chief Nala that night. His daughter Maiwa went on to his private huts as soon +as we arrived, and very shortly afterwards one of his head men came to us +bringing a sheep and some mealies and milk with him. ‘The chief sent us +greeting,’ he said, ‘and would see us on the morrow.’ +Meanwhile he was ordered to bring us to a place of resting, where we and our +goods should be safe and undisturbed. Accordingly he led the way to some very +good huts just outside Nala’s private enclosure, and here we slept +comfortably. +</p> + +<p> +“On the morrow about eight o’clock the head man came again, and +said that Nala requested that I would visit him. I followed him into the +private enclosure and was introduced to the chief, a fine-looking man of about +fifty, with very delicately-shaped hands and feet, and a rather nervous mouth. +The chief was seated on a tanned ox-hide outside his hut. By his side stood his +daughter Maiwa, and squatted on their haunches round him were some twenty head +men or Indunas, whose number was continually added to by fresh arrivals. These +men saluted me as I entered, and the chief rose and took my hand, ordering a +stool to be brought for me to sit on. When this was done, with much eloquence +and native courtesy he thanked me for protecting his daughter in the painful +and dangerous circumstances in which she found herself placed, and also +complimented me very highly upon what he was pleased to call the bravery with +which I had defended the pass in the rocks. I answered in appropriate terms, +saying that it was to Maiwa herself that thanks were due, for had it not been +for her warning and knowledge of the country we should not have been here +to-day; while as to the defence of the pass, I was fighting for my life, and +that put heart into me. +</p> + +<p> +“These courtesies concluded, Nala called upon his daughter Maiwa to tell +her tale to the head men, and this she did most simply and effectively. She +reminded them that she had gone as an unwilling bride to Wambe—that no +cattle had been paid for her, because Wambe had threatened war if she was not +sent as a free gift. Since she had entered the kraal of Wambe her days had been +days of heaviness and her nights nights of weeping. She had been beaten, she +had been neglected and made to do the work of a low-born wife—she, a +chief’s daughter. She had borne a child, and this was the story of the +child. Then amidst a dead silence she told them the awful tale which she had +already narrated to me. When she had finished, her hearers gave a loud +ejaculation. ‘<i>Ou!</i>’ they said, ‘<i>ou!</i> Maiwa, +daughter of Nala!’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Ay,’ she went on with flashing eyes, ‘ay, it is true; +my mouth is as full of truth as a flower of honey, and for tears my eyes are +like the dew upon the grass at dawn. It is true I saw the child die—here +is the proof of it, councillors,’ and she drew forth the little dead hand +and held it before them. +</p> + +<p> +“‘<i>Ou!</i>’ they said again, ‘<i>ou!</i> it is the +dead hand!’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Yes,’ she continued, ‘it is the dead hand of my dead +child, and I bear it with me that I may never forget, never for one short hour, +that I live that I may see Wambe die, and be avenged. Will you bear it, my +father, that your daughter and your daughter’s child should be so treated +by a Matuku? Will ye bear it, men of my own people?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘No,’ said an old Induna, rising, ‘it is not to be +borne. Enough have we suffered at the hands of these Matuku dogs and their +loud-tongued chief; let us put it to the issue.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘It is not to be borne indeed,’ said Nala; ‘but how +can we make head against so great a people?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Ask of him—ask of Macumazahn, the wise white man,’ +said Maiwa, pointing at me. +</p> + +<p> +“‘How can we overcome Wambe, Macumazahn the hunter?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘How does the jackal overreach the lion, Nala?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘By cleverness, Macumazahn.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘So shall you overcome Wambe, Nala.’ +</p> + +<p> +“At this moment an interruption occurred. A man entered and said that +messengers had arrived from Wambe. +</p> + +<p> +“‘What is their message?’ asked Nala. +</p> + +<p> +“‘They come to ask that thy daughter Maiwa be sent back, and with +her the white hunter.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘How shall I make answer to this, Macumazahn?’ said Nala, +when the man had withdrawn. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Thus shalt thou answer,’ I said after reflection; +‘say that the woman shall be sent and I with her, and then bid the +messengers be gone. Stay, I will hide myself here in the hut that the men may +not see me,’ and I did. +</p> + +<p> +“Shortly afterwards, through a crack in the hut, I saw the messengers +arrive, and they were great truculent-looking fellows. There were four of them, +and evidently they had travelled night and day. They entered with a swagger and +squatted down before Nala. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Your business?’ said Nala, frowning. +</p> + +<p> +“‘We come from Wambe, bearing the orders of Wambe to Nala his +servant,’ answered the spokesman of the party. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Speak,’ said Nala, with a curious twitch of his +nervous-looking mouth. +</p> + +<p> +“‘These are the words of Wambe: “Send back the woman, my +wife, who has run away from my kraal, and send with her the white man who has +dared to hunt in my country without my leave, and to slay my soldiers.” +These are the words of Wambe.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘And if I say I will not send them?’ asked Nala. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Then on behalf of Wambe we declare war upon you. Wambe will eat +you up. He will wipe you out; your kraals shall be stamped +flat—so,’ and with an expressive gesture he drew his hand across +his mouth to show how complete would be the annihilation of that chief who +dared to defy Wambe. +</p> + +<p> +“‘These are heavy words,’ said Nala. ‘Let me take +counsel before I answer.’ +</p> + +<p> +“Then followed a little piece of acting that was really very creditable +to the untutored savage mind. The heralds withdrew, but not out of sight, and +Nala went through the show of earnestly consulting his Indunas. The girl Maiwa +too flung herself at his feet, and appeared to weep and implore his protection, +while he wrung his hands as though in doubt and tribulation of mind. At length +he summoned the messengers to draw near, and addressed them, while Maiwa sobbed +very realistically at his side. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Wambe is a great chief,’ said Nala, ‘and this woman +is his wife, whom he has a right to claim. She must return to him, but her feet +are sore with walking, she cannot come now. In eight days from this day she +shall be delivered at the kraal of Wambe; I will send her with a party of my +men. As for the white hunter and his men, I have nought to do with them, and +cannot answer for their misdeeds. They have wandered hither unbidden by me, and +I will deliver them back whence they came, that Wambe may judge them according +to his law; they shall be sent with the girl. For you, go your ways. Food shall +be given you without the kraal, and a present for Wambe in atonement of the +ill-doing of my daughter. I have spoken.’ +</p> + +<p> +“At first the heralds seemed inclined to insist upon Maiwa’s +accompanying them then and there, but on being shown the swollen condition of +her feet, ultimately they gave up the point and departed. +</p> + +<p> +“When they were well out of the way I emerged from the hut, and we went +on to discuss the situation and make our plans. First of all, as I was careful +to explain to Nala, I was not going to give him my experience and services for +nothing. I heard that Wambe had a stockade round his kraal made of elephant +tusks. These tusks, in the event of our succeeding in the enterprise, I should +claim as my perquisite, with the proviso that Nala should furnish me with men +to carry them down to the coast. +</p> + +<p> +“To this modest request Nala and the head men gave an unqualified and +hearty assent, the more hearty perhaps because they never expected to get the +ivory. +</p> + +<p> +“The next thing I stipulated was, that if we conquered, the white man +John Every should be handed over to me, together with any goods which he might +claim. His cruel captivity was, I need hardly say, the only reason that induced +me to join in so hair-brained an expedition, but I was careful from motives of +policy to keep this fact in the background. Nala accepted this condition. My +third stipulation was that no women or children should be killed. This being +also agreed to, we went on to consider ways and means. Wambe, it appeared, was +a very powerful petty chief, that is, he could put at least six thousand +fighting men into the field, and always had from three to four thousand +collected about his kraal, which was supposed to be impregnable. Nala, on the +contrary, at such short notice could not collect more than from twelve to +thirteen hundred men, though, being of the Zulu stock, they were of much better +stuff for fighting purposes than Wambe’s Matukus. +</p> + +<p> +“These odds, though large, under the circumstances were not overwhelming. +The real obstacle to our chance of success was the difficulty of delivering a +crushing assault against Wambe’s strong place. This was, it appeared, +fortified all round with schanses or stone walls, and contained numerous caves +and koppies in the hill-side and at the foot of the mountain which no force had +ever been able to capture. It is said that in the time of the Zulu monarch +Dingaan, a great impi of that king’s having penetrated to this district, +had delivered an assault upon the kraal then owned by a forefather of +Wambe’s, and been beaten back with the loss of more than a thousand men. +</p> + +<p> +“Having thought the question over, I interrogated Maiwa closely as to the +fortifications and the topographical peculiarities of the spot, and not without +results. I discovered that the kraal was indeed impregnable to a front attack, +but that it was very slightly defended to the rear, which ran up a slope of the +mountain, indeed only by two lines of stone walls. The reason of this was that +the mountain is quite impassable except by one secret path supposed to be known +only to the chief and his councillors, and this being so, it had not been +considered necessary to fortify it. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Well,’ I said, when she had done, ‘and now as to this +secret path of thine—knowest thou aught of it?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Ay,’ she answered, ‘I am no fool, Macumazahn. +Knowledge learned is power earned. I won the secret of that path.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘And canst thou guide an impi thereon so that it shall fall upon +the town from behind?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Yes, I can do this, if only Wambe’s people know not that +the impi comes, for if they know, then they can block the way.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘So then here is my plan. Listen, Nala, and say if it be good, or +if thou hast a better, show it forth. Let messengers go out and summon all thy +impi, that it be gathered here on the third day from now. This being done, let +the impi, led by Maiwa, march on the morrow of the fourth day, and crossing the +mountains let it travel along on the other side of the mountains till it come +to the place on the further side of which is the kraal of Wambe; that shall be +some three days’ journey in all.[*] Then on the night of the third +day’s journey, let Maiwa lead the impi in silence up the secret path, so +that it comes to the crest of the mountain that is above the strong place, and +here let it hide among the rocks. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +[*] About one hundred and twenty miles.—Editor. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Meanwhile on the sixth day from now let one of thy Indunas, Nala, +bring with him two hundred men that have guns, and lead me and my men as +prisoners, and take also a girl from among the Butiana people, who by form and +face is like unto Maiwa, and bind her hands, and pass by the road on which we +came and through the cutting in the cliff on to the kraal of Wambe. But the men +shall take no shields or plumes with them, only their guns and one short spear, +and when they meet the people of Wambe they shall say that they come to give up +the woman and the white man and his party to Wambe, and to make atonement to +Wambe. So shall they pass in peace. And travelling thus, on the evening of the +seventh day we shall come to the gates of the place of Wambe, and nigh the +gates there is, so says Maiwa, a koppie very strong and full of rocks and +caves, but having no soldiers on it except in time of war, or at the worst but +a few such as can easily be overpowered. +</p> + +<p> +“‘This being done, at the dawn of day the impi on the mountain +behind the town must light a fire and put wet grass on it, so that the smoke +goes up. Then at the sight of the smoke we in the koppie will begin to shoot +into the town of Wambe, and all the soldiers will run to kill us. But we will +hold our own, and while we fight the impi shall charge down the mountain side +and climb the schanses, and put those who defend them to the assegai, and then +falling upon the town shall surprise it, and drive the soldiers of Wambe as a +wind blows the dead husks of corn. This is my plan. I have spoken.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘<i>Ou!</i>’ said Nala, ‘it is good, it is very good. +The white man is cleverer than a jackal. Yes, so shall it be; and may the snake +of the Butiana people stand up upon its tail and prosper the war, for so shall +we be rid of Wambe and the tyrannies of Wambe.’ +</p> + +<p> +“After that the girl Maiwa stood up, and once more producing the dreadful +little dried hand, made her father and several of his head councillors swear by +it and upon it that they would carry out the war of vengeance to the bitter +end. It was a very curious sight to see. And by the way, the fight that ensued +was thereafter known among the tribes of that district as the War of the Little +Hand. +</p> + +<p> +“The next two days were busy ones for us. Messengers were sent out, and +every available man of the Butiana tribe was ordered up to ‘a great +dance.’ The country was small, and by the evening of the second day, some +twelve hundred and fifty men were assembled with their assegais and shields, +and a fine hardy troop they were. At dawn of the following day, the fourth from +the departure of the heralds, the main impi, having been doctored in the usual +fashion, started under the command of Nala himself, who, knowing that his life +and chieftainship hung upon the issue of the struggle, wisely determined to be +present to direct it. With them went Maiwa, who was to guide them up the secret +path. Of course we were obliged to give them two days’ start, as they had +more than a hundred miles of rough country to pass, including the crossing of +the great mountain range which ran north and south, for it was necessary that +the impi should make a wide détour in order to escape detection. +</p> + +<p> +“At length, however, at dawn on the sixth day, I took the road, +accompanied by my most unwilling bearers, who did not at all like the idea of +thus putting their heads into the lion’s mouth. Indeed, it was only the +fear of Nala’s spears, together with a vague confidence in myself, that +induced them to accept the adventure. With me also were about two hundred +Butianas, all armed with guns of various kinds, for many of these people had +guns, though they were not very proficient in the use of them. But they carried +no shields and wore no head-dress or armlets; indeed, every warlike appearance +was carefully avoided. With our party went also a sister of Maiwa’s, +though by a different mother, who strongly resembled her in face and form, and +whose mission it was to impersonate the runaway wife. +</p> + +<p> +“That evening we camped upon the top of the cliff up which we had so +barely escaped, and next morning at the first breaking of the light we rolled +away the stones with which we had blocked the passage some days before, and +descended to the hill-side beneath. Here the bodies, or rather the skeletons of +the men who had fallen before my rifle, still lay about. The Matuku soldiers +had left their comrades to be buried by the vultures. I descended the gully +into which poor Gobo had fallen, and searched for his body, but in vain, +although I found the spot where he and the other man had struck, together with +the bones of the latter, which I recognized by the waist-cloth. Either some +beast of prey had carried Gobo off, or the Matuku people had disposed of his +remains, and also of my express rifle which he carried. At any rate, I never +saw or heard any more of him. +</p> + +<p> +“Once in Wambe’s country, we adopted a very circumspect method of +proceeding. About fifty men marched ahead in loose order to guard against +surprise, while as many more followed behind. The remaining hundred were +gathered in a bunch between, and in the centre of these men I marched, together +with the girl who was personating Maiwa, and all my bearers. We were disarmed, +and some of my men were tied together to show that we were prisoners, while the +girl had a blanket thrown over her head, and moved along with an air of great +dejection. We headed straight for Wambe’s place, which was at a distance +of about twenty-five miles from the mountain-pass. +</p> + +<p> +“When we had gone some five miles we met a party of about fifty of +Wambe’s soldiers, who were evidently on the look-out for us. They stopped +us, and their captain asked where we were going. The head man of our party +answered that he was conveying Maiwa, Wambe’s runaway wife, together with +the white hunter and his men, to be given up to Wambe in accordance with his +command. The captain then wanted to know why we were so many, to which our +spokesman replied that I and my men were very desperate fellows, and that it +was feared that if we were sent with a smaller escort we should escape, and +bring disgrace and the wrath of Wambe upon their tribe. Thereon this gentleman, +the Matuku captain, began to amuse himself at my expense, and mock me, saying +that Wambe would make me pay for the soldiers whom I had killed. He would put +me into the ‘Thing that bites,’ in other words, the lion trap, and +leave me there to die like a jackal caught by the leg. I made no answer to +this, though my wrath was great, but pretended to look frightened. Indeed there +was not much pretence about it, I was frightened. I could not conceal from +myself that ours was a most hazardous enterprise, and that it was very possible +that I might make acquaintance with that lion trap before I was many days +older. However, it seemed quite impossible to desert poor Every in his +misfortune, so I had to go on, and trust to Providence, as I have so often been +obliged to do before and since. +</p> + +<p> +“And now a fresh difficulty arose. Wambe’s soldiers insisted upon +accompanying us, and what is more, did all they could to urge us forward, as +they were naturally anxious to get to the chief’s place before evening. +But we, on the other hand, had excellent reasons for not arriving till night +was closing in, since we relied upon the gloom to cover our advance upon the +koppie which commanded the town. Finally, they became so importunate that we +were obliged to refuse flatly to move faster, alleging as a reason that the +girl was tired. They did not accept this excuse in good part, and at one time I +thought that we should have come to blows, for there is no love lost between +Butianas and Matukus. At last, however, either from motives of policy, or +because they were so evidently outnumbered, they gave in and suffered us to go +our own pace. I earnestly wished that they would have added to the obligation +by going theirs, but this they declined absolutely to do. On the contrary, they +accompanied us every foot of the way, keeping up a running fire of allusions to +the ‘Thing that bites’ that jarred upon my nerves and discomposed +my temper. +</p> + +<p> +“About half-past four in the afternoon we came to a neck or ridge of +stony ground, whence we could see Wambe’s town plainly lying some six or +seven miles away, and three thousand feet beneath us. The town is built in a +valley, with the exception of Wambe’s own kraal, that is situated at the +mouth of some caves upon the slope of the opposing mountains, over which I +hoped to see our impi’s spears flashing in the morrow’s light. Even +from where we stood, it was easy to see how strongly the place was fortified +with schanses and stone walls, and how difficult of approach. Indeed, unless +taken by surprise, it seemed to me quite impregnable to a force operating +without cannon, and even cannon would not make much impression on rocks and +stony koppies filled with caves. +</p> + +<p> +“Then came the descent of the pass, and an arduous business it was, for +the path—if it may be called a path—is almost entirely composed of +huge water-worn boulders, from the one to the other of which we must jump like +so many grasshoppers. It took us two hours to climb down, and, travelling +through that burning sun, when at last we did reach the bottom, I for one was +nearly played out. Shortly afterwards, just as it was growing dark, we came to +the first line of fortifications, which consisted of a triple stone wall +pierced by a gateway, so narrow that a man could hardly squeeze through it. We +passed this without question, being accompanied by Wambe’s soldiers. +Then came a belt of land three hundred paces or more in width, very rocky and +broken, and having no huts upon it. Here in hollows in this belt the cattle +were kraaled in case of danger. On the further side were more fortifications +and another small gateway shaped like a V, and just beyond and through it I saw +the koppie we had planned to seize looming up against the line of mountains +behind. +</p> + +<p> +“As we went I whispered my suggestions to our captain, with the result +that at the second gateway he halted the cavalcade, and addressing the captain +of Wambe’s soldiers, said that we would wait here till we received +Wambe’s word to enter the town. The other man said that this was well, +only he must hand over the prisoners to be taken up to the chief’s kraal, +for Wambe, was ‘hungry to begin upon them,’ and his ‘heart +desired to see the white man at rest before he closed his eyes in sleep,’ +and as for his wife, ‘surely he would welcome her.’ Our leader +replied that he could not do this thing, because his orders were to deliver the +prisoners to Wambe at Wambe’s own kraal, and they might not be broken. +How could he be responsible for the safety of the prisoners if he let them out +of his hand? No, they would wait there till Wambe’s word was brought. +</p> + +<p> +“To this, after some demur, the other man consented, and went away, +remarking that he would soon be back. As he passed me he called out with a +sneer, pointing as he did so to the fading red in the western +sky—‘Look your last upon the light, White Man, for the “Thing +that bites” lives in the dark.’ +</p> + +<p> +“Next day it so happened that I shot this man, and, do you know, I think +that he is about the only human being who has come to harm at my hands for whom +I do not feel sincere sorrow and, in a degree, remorse.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap07"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /> +THE ATTACK</h2> + +<p> +“Just where we halted ran a little stream of water. I looked at it, and +an idea struck me: probably there would be no water on the koppie. I suggested +this to our captain, and, acting on the hint, he directed all the men to drink +what they could, and also to fill the seven or eight cooking pots which we +carried with us with water. Then came the crucial moment. How were we to get +possession of the koppie? When the captain asked me, I said that I thought that +we had better march up and take it, and this accordingly we went on to do. When +we came to the narrow gateway we were, as I expected, stopped by two soldiers +who stood on guard there and asked our business. The captain answered that we +had changed our minds, and would follow on to Wambe’s kraal. The soldiers +said no, we must now wait. +</p> + +<p> +“To this we replied by pushing them to one side and marching in single +file through the gateway, which was not distant more than a hundred yards from +the koppie. While we were getting through, the men we had pushed away ran +towards the town calling for assistance, a call that was promptly responded to, +for in another minute we saw scores of armed men running hard in our direction. +So we ran too, for the koppie. As soon as they understood what we were after, +which they did not at first, owing to the dimness of the light, they did their +best to get there before us. But we had the start of them, and with the +exception of one unfortunate man who stumbled and fell, we were well on to the +koppie before they arrived. This man they captured, and when fighting began on +the following morning, and he refused to give any information, they killed him. +Luckily they had no time to torture him, or they would certainly have done so, +for these Matuku people are very fond of torturing their enemies. +</p> + +<p> +“When we reached the koppie, the base of which covers about half an acre +of ground, the soldiers who had been trying to cut us off halted, for they knew +the strength of the position. This gave us a few minutes before the light had +quite vanished to reconnoitre the place. We found that it was unoccupied, +fortified with a regular labyrinth of stone walls, and contained three large +caves and some smaller ones. The next business was to post the soldiers to such +advantage as time would allow. My own men I was careful to place quite at the +top. They were perfectly useless from terror, and I feared that they might try +to escape and give information of our plans to Wambe. So I watched them like +the apple of my eye, telling them that should they dare to stir they would be +shot. +</p> + +<p> +“Then it grew quite dark, and presently out of the darkness I heard a +voice—it was that of the leader of the soldiers who had escorted +us—calling us to come down. We replied that it was too dark to move, we +should hit our feet against the stones. He insisted upon our descending, and we +flatly refused, saying that if any attempt was made to dislodge us we would +fire. After that, as they had no real intention of attacking us in the dark, +the men withdrew, but we saw from the fires which were lit around that they +were keeping a strict watch upon our position. +</p> + +<p> +“That night was a wearing one, for we never quite knew how the situation +was going to develop. Fortunately we had some cooked food with us, so we did +not starve. It was lucky, however, that we drunk our fill before coming up, +for, as I had anticipated, there was not a drop of water on the koppie. +</p> + +<p> +“At length the night wore away, and with the first tinge of light I began +to go my rounds, and stumbling along the stony paths, to make things as ready +as I could for the attack, which I felt sure would be delivered before we were +two hours older. The men were cramped and cold, and consequently low-spirited, +but I exhorted them to the best of my ability, bidding them remember the race +from which they sprang, and not to show the white feather before a crowd of +Matuku dogs. At length it began to grow light, and presently I saw long columns +of men advancing towards the koppie. They halted under cover at a distance of +about a hundred and fifty yards, and just as the dawn broke a herald came +forward and called to us. Our captain stood up upon a rock and answered him. +</p> + +<p> +“‘These are the words of Wambe,’ the herald said. ‘Come +forth from the koppie, and give over the evil-doers, and go in peace, or stay +in the koppie and be slain.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘It is too early to come out as yet,’ answered our man in +fine diplomatic style. ‘When the sun sucks up the mist then we will come +out. Our limbs are stiff with cold.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Come forth even now,’ said the herald. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Not if I know it, my boy,’ said I to myself; but the +captain replied that he would come out when he thought proper, and not before. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Then make ready to die,’ said the herald, for all the world +like the villain of a transpontine piece, and majestically stalked back to the +soldiers. +</p> + +<p> +“I made my final arrangements, and looked anxiously at the mountain crest +a couple of miles or so away, from which the mist was now beginning to lift, +but no column of smoke could I see. I whistled, for if the attacking force had +been delayed or made any mistake, our position was likely to grow rather warm. +We had barely enough water to wet the mouths of the men, and when once it was +finished we could not hold the place for long in that burning heat. +</p> + +<p> +“At length, just as the sun rose in glory over the heights behind us, the +Matuku soldiers, of whom about fifteen hundred were now assembled, set up a +queer whistling noise, which ended in a chant. Then some shots were fired, for +the Matuku had a few guns, but without effect, though one bullet passed just by +a man’s head. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Now they are going to begin,’ I thought to myself, and I +was not far wrong, for in another minute the body of men divided into three +companies, each about five hundred strong, and, heralded by a running fire, +charged at us on three sides. Our men were now all well under cover, and the +fire did us no harm. I mounted on a rock so as to command a view of as much of +the koppie and plain as possible, and yelled to our men to reserve their fire +till I gave the word, and then to shoot low and load as quickly as possible. I +knew that, like all natives, they were sure to be execrable shots, and that +they were armed with weapons made out of old gas-pipes, so the only chance of +doing execution was to let the enemy get right on to us. +</p> + +<p> +“On they came with a rush; they were within eighty yards now, and as they +drew near the point of attack, I observed that they closed their ranks, which +was so much the better for us. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Shall we not fire, my father?’ sung out the captain. +</p> + +<p> +“‘No, confound you!’ I answered. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Sixty yards—fifty—forty—thirty. Fire, you +scoundrels!’ I yelled, setting the example by letting off both barrels of +my elephant gun into the thickest part of the company opposite to me. +</p> + +<p> +“Instantly the place rang out with the discharge of two hundred and odd +guns, while the air was torn by the passage of every sort of missile, from iron +pot legs down to slugs and pebbles coated with lead. The result was very +prompt. The Matukus were so near that we could not miss them, and at thirty +yards a lead-coated stone out of a gas-pipe is as effective as a Martini rifle, +or more so. Over rolled the attacking soldiers by the dozen, while the +survivors, fairly frightened, took to their heels. We plied them with shot till +they were out of range—I made it very warm for them with the elephant +gun, by the way—and then we loaded up in quite a cheerful frame of mind, +for we had not lost a man, whereas I could count more than fifty dead and +wounded Matukus. The only thing that damped my ardour was that, stare as I +would, I could see no column of smoke upon the mountain crest. +</p> + +<p> +“Half an hour elapsed before any further steps were taken against us. +Then the attacking force adopted different tactics. Seeing that it was very +risky to try to rush us in dense masses, they opened out into skirmishing order +and ran across the open space in lots of five and six. As it happened, right at +the foot of the koppie the ground broke away a little in such fashion that it +was almost impossible for us to search it effectually with our fire. On the +hither side of this dip Wambe’s soldiers were now congregating in +considerable numbers. Of course we did them as much damage as we could while +they were running across, but this sort of work requires good shots, and that +was just what we had not got. Another thing was, that so many of our men would +insist upon letting off the things they called guns at every little knot of the +enemy that ran across. Thus, the first few lots were indeed practically swept +away, but after that, as it took a long while to load the gas-pipes and old +flint muskets, those who followed got across in comparative safety. For my own +part, I fired away with the elephant gun and repeating carbine till they grew +almost too hot to hold, but my individual efforts could do nothing to stop such +a rush, or perceptibly to lessen the number of our enemies. +</p> + +<p> +“At length there were at least a thousand men crowded into the dip of +ground within a few yards of us, whence those of them who had guns kept up a +continued fusillade upon the koppie. They killed two of my bearers in this way, +and wounded a third, for being at the top of the koppie these men were most +exposed to the fire from the dip at its base. Seeing that the situation was +growing most serious, at length, by the dint of threats and entreaties, I +persuaded the majority of our people to cease firing useless shots, to reload, +and prepare for the rush. Scarcely had I done so when the enemy came for us +with a roar. I am bound to say that I should never have believed that Matukus +had it in them to make such a determined charge. A large party rushed round the +base of the koppie, and attacked us in flank, while the others swarmed wherever +they could get a foothold, so that we were taken on every side. +</p> + +<p> +“‘<i>Fire!</i>’ I cried, and we did with terrible effect. +Many of their men fell, but though we checked we could not stop them. They +closed up and rushed the first fortification, killing a good number of its +defenders. It was almost all cold steel work now, for we had no time to reload, +and that suited the Butiana habits of fighting well enough, for the stabbing +assegai is a weapon which they understand. Those of our people who escaped from +the first line of walls took refuge in the second, where I stood myself, +encouraging them, and there the fight raged fiercely. Occasionally parties of +the enemy would force a passage, only to perish on the hither side beneath the +Butiana spears. But still they kept it up, and I saw that, fight as we would, +we were doomed. We were altogether outnumbered, and to make matters worse, +fresh bodies of soldiers were pouring across the plain to the assistance of our +assailants. So I made up my mind to direct a retreat into the caves, and there +expire in a manner as heroic as circumstances would allow; and while mentally +lamenting my hard fate and reflecting on my sins I fought away like a fiend. It +was then, I remember, that I shot my friend the captain of our escort of the +previous day. He had caught sight of me, and making a vicious dig at my stomach +with a spear (which I successfully dodged), shouted out, or rather began to +shout out, one of his unpleasant allusions to the ‘Thing +that——’ He never got as far as ‘bites,’ because I +shot him after ‘that.’ +</p> + +<p> +“Well, the game was about up. Already I saw one man throw down his spear +in token of surrender—which act of cowardice cost him his life, by the +way—when suddenly a shout arose. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Look at the mountain,’ they cried; ‘there is an impi +on the mountain side.’ +</p> + +<p> +“I glanced up, and there sure enough, about half-way down the mountain, +nearing the first fortification, the long-plumed double line of Nala’s +warriors was rushing down to battle, the bright light of the morning glancing +on their spears. Afterwards we discovered that the reason of their delay was +that they had been stopped by a river in flood, and could not reach the +mountain crest by dawn. When they did reach it, however, they saw instantly +that the fight was already going on, was ‘in flower,’ as they put +it, and so advanced at once without waiting to light signal-fires. +</p> + +<p> +“Meanwhile they had been observed from the town, and parties of soldiers +were charging up the steep side of the hill, to occupy the schanses, and the +second line of fortifications behind them. The first line they did not now +attempt to reach or defend; Nala pressed them too close. But they got to the +schanses or pits protected with stone walls, and constructed to hold from a +dozen to twenty men, and soon began to open fire from them, and from isolated +rocks. I turned my eyes to the gates of the town, which were placed to the +north and south. Already they were crowded with hundreds of fugitive women and +children flying to the rocks and caves for shelter from the foe. +</p> + +<p> +“As for ourselves, the appearance of Nala’s impi produced a +wonderful change for the better in our position. The soldiers attacking us +turned, realizing that the town was being assailed from the rear, and +clambering down the koppie streamed off to protect their homes against this new +enemy. In five minutes there was not a man left except those who would move no +more, or were too sorely wounded to escape. I felt inclined to ejaculate +‘<i>Saved!</i>’ like the gentleman in the play, but did not because +the occasion was too serious. What I did do was to muster all the men and +reckon up our losses. They amounted to fifty-one killed and wounded, sixteen +men having been killed outright. Then I sent men with the cooking-pots to the +stream of water, and we drank. This done I set my bearers, being the most +useless part of the community, from a fighting point of view, to the task of +attending the injured, and turned to watch the fray. +</p> + +<p> +“By this time Nala’s impi had climbed the first line of +fortifications without opposition, and was advancing in a long line upon the +schanses or pits which were scattered about between it and the second line, +singing a war chant as it came. Presently puffs of smoke began to start from +the schanses, and with my glasses I could see several of our men falling over. +Then as they came opposite a schanse that portion of the long line of warriors +would thicken up and charge it with a wild rush. I could see them leap on to +the walls and vanish into the depths beneath, some of their number falling +backward on each occasion, shot or stabbed to death. +</p> + +<p> +“Next would come another act in the tragedy. Out from the hither side of +the schanse would pour such of its defenders as were left alive, perhaps three +or four and perhaps a dozen, running for dear life, with the war dogs on their +tracks. One by one they would be caught, then up flashed the great spear and +down fell the pursued—dead. I saw ten of our men leap into one large +schanse, but though I watched for some time nobody came out. Afterwards we +inspected the place and found these men all dead, together with twenty-three +Matukus. Neither side would give in, and they had fought it out to the bitter +end. +</p> + +<p> +“At last they neared the second line of fortifications, behind which the +whole remaining Matuku force, numbering some two thousand men, was rapidly +assembling. One little pause to get their breath, and Nala’s men came at +it with a rush and a long wild shout of ‘<i>Bulala Matuku</i>’ +(kill the Matuku) that went right through me, thrilling every nerve. Then came +an answering shout, and the sounds of heavy firing, and presently I saw our men +retreating, somewhat fewer in numbers than they had advanced. Their welcome had +been a warm one for the Matuku fight splendidly behind walls. This decided me +that it was necessary to create a diversion; if we did not do so it seemed very +probable that we should be worsted after all. I called to the captain of our +little force, and rapidly put the position before him. +</p> + +<p> +“Seeing the urgency of the occasion, he agreed with me that we must risk +it, and in two minutes more, with the exception of my own men, whom I left to +guard the wounded, we were trotting across the open space and through the +deserted town towards the spot where the struggle was taking place, some seven +hundred yards away. In six or eight minutes we reached a group of huts—it +was a head man’s kraal, that was situated about a hundred and twenty +yards behind the fortified wall, and took possession of it unobserved. The +enemy was too much engaged with the foe in front of him to notice us, and +besides, the broken ground rose in a hog-back shape between. There we waited a +minute or two and recovered our breath, while I gave my directions. So soon as +we heard the Butiana impi begin to charge again, we were to run out in a line +to the brow of the hogback and pour our fire into the mass of defenders behind +the wall. Then the guns were to be thrown down and we must charge with the +assegai. We had no shields, but that could not be helped; there would be no +time to reload the guns, and it was absolutely necessary that the enemy should +be disconcerted at the moment when the main attack was delivered. +</p> + +<p> +“The men, who were as plucky a set of fellows as ever I saw, and whose +blood was now thoroughly up, consented to this scheme, though I could see that +they thought it rather a large order, as indeed I did myself. But I knew that +if the impi was driven back a second time the game would be played, and for me +at any rate it would be a case of the ‘Thing that bites,’ and this +sure and certain knowledge filled my breast with valour. +</p> + +<p> +“We had not long to wait. Presently we heard the Butiana war-song +swelling loud and long; they had commenced their attack. I made a sign, and the +hundred and fifty men, headed by myself, poured out of the kraal, and getting +into a rough line ran up the fifty or sixty yards of slope that intervened +between ourselves and the crest of the hog-backed ridge. In thirty seconds we +were there, and immediately beyond us was the main body of the Matuku host +waiting the onslaught of the enemy with guns and spears. Even now they did not +see us, so intent were they upon the coming attack. I signed to my men to take +careful aim, and suddenly called out to them to fire, which they did with a +will, dropping thirty or forty Matukus. +</p> + +<p> +“‘<i>Charge!</i>’ I shouted, again throwing down my smoking +rifle and drawing my revolver, an example which they followed, snatching up +their spears from the ground where they had placed them while they fired. The +men set up a savage whoop, and we started. I saw the Matuku soldiers wheel +around in hundreds, utterly taken aback at this new development of the +situation. And looking over them, before we had gone twenty yards I saw +something else. For of a sudden, as though they had risen from the earth, there +appeared above the wall hundreds of great spears, followed by hundreds of +savage faces shadowed with drooping plumes. With a yell they sprang upon the +wall shaking their broad shields, and with a yell they bounded from it straight +into our astonished foes. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Crash!</i> we were in them now, and fighting like demons. +<i>Crash!</i> from the other side. Nala’s impi was at its work, and still +the spears and plumes appeared for a moment against the brown background of the +mountain, and then sprang down and rushed like a storm upon the foe. The great +mob of men turned this way and turned that way, astonished, bewildered, +overborne by doubt and terror. +</p> + +<p> +“Meanwhile the slayers stayed not their hands, and on every side spears +flashed, and the fierce shout of triumph went up to heaven. There too on the +wall stood Maiwa, a white garment streaming from her shoulders, an assegai in +her hand, her breast heaving, her eyes flashing. Above all the din of battle I +could catch the tones of her clear voice as she urged the soldiers on to +victory. But victory was not yet. Wambe’s soldiers gathered themselves +together, and bore our men back by the sheer weight of numbers. They began to +give, then once more they rallied, and the fight hung doubtfully. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Slay, you war-whelps,’ cried Maiwa from the wall. +‘Are you afraid, you women, you chicken-hearted women! Strike home, or +die like dogs! What—you give way! Follow me, children of Nala.’ And +with one long cry she leapt from the wall as leaps a stricken antelope, and +holding the spear poised rushed right into the thickest of the fray. The +warriors saw her, and raised such a shout that it echoed like thunder against +the mountains. They massed together, and following the flutter of her white +robe crashed into the dense heart of the foe. Down went the Matuku before them +like trees before a whirlwind. Nothing could stand in the face of such a rush +as that. It was as the rush of a torrent bursting its banks. All along their +line swept the wild desperate charge; and there, straight in the forefront of +the battle, still waved the white robe of Maiwa. +</p> + +<p> +“Then they broke, and, stricken with utter panic, Wambe’s soldiers +streamed away a scattered crowd of fugitives, while after them thundered the +footfall of the victors. +</p> + +<p> +“The fight was over, we had won the day; and for my part I sat down upon +a stone and wiped my forehead, thanking Providence that I had lived to see the +end of it. Twenty minutes later Nala’s warriors began to return panting. +‘Wambe’s soldiers had taken to the bush and the caves,’ they +said, ‘where they had not thought it safe to follow them,’ adding +significantly, that many had stopped on the way. +</p> + +<p> +“I was utterly dazed, and now that the fight was over my energy seemed to +have left me, and I did not pay much attention, till presently I was aroused by +somebody calling me by my name. I looked up, and saw that it was the chief Nala +himself, who was bleeding from a flesh wound in his arm. By his side stood +Maiwa panting, but unhurt, and wearing on her face a proud and terrifying air. +</p> + +<p> +“‘They are gone, Macumazahn,’ said the chief; ‘there is +little to fear from them, their heart is broken. But where is Wambe the +chief?—and where is the white man thou camest to save?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I know not,’ I answered. +</p> + +<p> +“Close to where we stood lay a Matuku, a young man who had been shot +through the fleshy part of the calf. It was a trifling wound, but it prevented +him from running away. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Say, thou dog,’ said Nala, stalking up to him and shaking +his red spear in his face, ‘say, where is Wambe? Speak, or I slay thee. +Was he with the soldiers?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Nay, lord, I know not,’ groaned the terrified man, +‘he fought not with us; Wambe has no stomach for fighting. Perchance he +is in his kraal yonder, or in the cave behind the kraal,’ and he pointed +to a small enclosure on the hillside, about four hundred yards to the right of +where we were. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Let us go and see,’ said Nala, summoning his +soldiers.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap08"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> +MAIWA IS AVENGED</h2> + +<p> +“The impi formed up; alas, an hour before it had been stronger by a third +than it was now. Then Nala detached two hundred men to collect and attend to +the injured, and at my suggestion issued a stringent order that none of the +enemy’s wounded, and above all no women or children, were to be killed, +as is the savage custom among African natives. On the contrary, they were to be +allowed to send word to their women that they might come in to nurse them and +fear nothing, for Nala made war upon Wambe the tyrant, and not on the Matuku +tribe. +</p> + +<p> +“Then we started with some four hundred men for the chief’s kraal. +Very soon we were there. It was, as I have said, placed against the mountain +side, but within the fortified lines, and did not at all cover more than an +acre and a half of ground. Outside was a tiny reed fence, within which, neatly +arranged in a semi-circular line, stood the huts of the chief’s principal +wives. Maiwa of course knew every inch of the kraal, for she had lived in it, +and led us straight to the entrance. We peeped through the gateway—not a +soul was to be seen. There were the huts and there was the clear open space +floored with a concrete of lime, on which the sun beat fiercely, but nobody +could we see or hear. +</p> + +<p> +“‘The jackal has gone to earth,’ said Maiwa; ‘he will +be in the cave behind his hut,’ and she pointed with her spear towards +another small and semi-circular enclosure, over which a large hut was visible, +that had the cliff itself for a background. I stared at this fence; by George! +it was true, it was entirely made of tusks of ivory planted in the ground with +their points bending outwards. The smallest ones, though none were small, were +placed nearest to the cliff on either side, but they gradually increased in +size till they culminated in two enormous tusks, which, set up so that their +points met, something in the shape of an inverted V, formed the gateway to the +hut. I was dumbfoundered with delight; and indeed, where is the elephant-hunter +who would not be, if he suddenly saw five or six hundred picked tusks set up in +a row, and only waiting for him to take them away? Of course the stuff was what +is known as ‘black’ ivory; that is, the exterior of the tusks had +become black from years or perhaps centuries of exposure to wind and weather, +but I was certain that it would be none the worse for that. Forgetting the +danger of the deed, in my excitement I actually ran right across the open +space, and drawing my knife scratched vigorously at one of the great tusks to +see how deep the damage might be. As I thought, it was nothing; there beneath +the black covering gleamed the pure white ivory. I could have capered for joy, +for I fear that I am very mercenary at heart, when suddenly I heard the faint +echo of a cry for assistance. ‘Help!’ screamed a voice in the +Sisutu dialect from somewhere behind the hut; ‘help! they are murdering +me.’ +</p> + +<p> +“<i>I knew the voice</i>; it was John Every’s. Oh, what a selfish +brute was I! For the moment that miserable ivory had driven the recollection of +him out of my head, and now—perhaps it was too late. +</p> + +<p> +“Nala, Maiwa, and the soldiers had now come up. They too heard the voice +and interpreted its tone, though they had not caught the words. +</p> + +<p> +“‘This way,’ cried Maiwa, and we started at a run, passing +round the hut of Wambe. Behind was the narrow entrance to a cave. We rushed +through it heedless of the danger of the ambush, and this is what we saw, +though very confusedly at first, owing to the gloom. +</p> + +<p> +“In the centre of the cave, and with either end secured to the floor by +strong stakes, stood a huge double-springed lion trap edged with sharp and +grinning teeth. It was set, and beyond the trap, indeed almost over it, a +terrible struggle was in progress. A naked or almost naked white man, with a +great beard hanging down over his breast, in spite of his furious struggles, +was being slowly forced and dragged towards the trap by six or eight women. +Only one man was present, a fat, cruel-looking man with small eyes and a +hanging lip. It was the chief Wambe, and he stood by the trap ready to force +the victim down upon it so soon as the women had dragged him into the necessary +position. +</p> + +<p> +“At this instant they caught sight of us, and there came a moment’s +pause, and then, before I knew what she was going to do, Maiwa lifted the +assegai she still held, and whirled it at Wambe’s head. I saw the flash +of light speed towards him, and so did he, for he stepped backward to avoid +it—stepped backward right into the trap. He yelled with pain as the iron +teeth of the ‘Thing that bites’ sprang up with a rattling sound +like living fangs and fastened into him—such a yell I have not often +heard. Now at last he tasted of the torture which he had inflicted upon so +many, and though I trust I am a Christian, I cannot say that I felt sorry for +him. +</p> + +<p> +“The assegai sped on and struck one of the women who had hold of the +unfortunate Every, piercing through her arm. This made her leave go, an example +that the other women quickly followed, so that Every fell to the ground, where +he lay gasping. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Kill the witches,’ roared Nala, in a voice of thunder, +pointing to the group of women. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Nay,’ gasped Every, ‘spare them. He made them do +it,’ and he pointed to the human fiend in the trap. Then Maiwa waved her +hand to us to fall back, for the moment of her vengeance was come. We did so, +and she strode up to her lord, and flinging the white robe from her stood +before him, her fierce beautiful face fixed like stone. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Who am I?’ she cried in so terrible a voice that he ceased +his yells. ‘Am I that woman who was given to thee for wife, and whose +child thou slewest? Or am I an avenging spirit come to see thee die? +</p> + +<p> +“‘What is this?’ she went on, drawing the withered baby-hand +from the pouch at her side. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Is it the hand of a babe? and how came that hand to be thus +alone? What cut it off from the babe? and where is the babe? Is it a hand? or +is it the vision of a hand that shall presently tear thy throat? +</p> + +<p> +“‘Where are thy soldiers, Wambe? Do they sleep and eat and go forth +to do thy bidding? or are they perchance dead and scattered like the winter +leaves?’ +</p> + +<p> +“He groaned and rolled his eyes while the fierce-faced woman went on. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Art thou still a chief, Wambe? or does another take thy place and +power, and say, Lord, what doest thou there? and what is that slave’s +leglet upon thy knee? +</p> + +<p> +“‘Is it a dream, Wambe, great lord and chief? or’—and +she lifted her clenched hands and shook them in his face—‘hath a +woman’s vengeance found thee out and a woman’s wit +o’ermatched thy tyrannous strength? and art thou about to slowly die in +torments horrible to think on, oh, thou accursed murderer of little +children?’ +</p> + +<p> +“And with one wild scream she dashed the dead hand of the child straight +into his face, and then fell senseless on the floor. As for the demon in the +trap, he shrank back so far as its iron bounds would allow, his yellow eyes +starting out of his head with pain and terror, and then once more began to +yell. +</p> + +<p> +“The scene was more than I could bear. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Nala,’ I said, ‘this must stop. That man is a fiend, +but he must not be left to die there. See thou to it.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Nay,” answered Nala, ‘let him taste of the food +wherewith he hath fed so many; leave him till death shall find him.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘That I will not,’ I answered. ‘Let his end be swift; +see thou to it.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘As thou wilt, Macumazahn,’ answered the chief, with a shrug +of the shoulders; ‘first let the white man and Maiwa be brought +forth.’ +</p> + +<p> +“So the soldiers came forward and carried Every and the woman into the +open air. As the former was borne past his tormentor, the fallen chief, so +cowardly was his wicked heart, actually prayed him to intercede for him, and +save him from a fate which, but for our providential appearance, would have +been Every’s own. +</p> + +<p> +“So we went away, and in another moment one of the biggest villains on +the earth troubled it no more. Once in the fresh air Every recovered quickly. I +looked at him, and horror and sorrow pierced me through to see such a sight. +His face was the face of a man of sixty, though he was not yet forty, and his +poor body was cut to pieces with stripes and scars, and other marks of the +torments which Wambe had for years amused himself with inflicting on him. +</p> + +<p> +“As soon as he recovered himself a little he struggled on to his knees, +burst into a paroxysm of weeping, and clasping my legs with his emaciated arms, +would have actually kissed my feet. +</p> + +<p> +“‘What are you about, old fellow?’ I said, for I am not +accustomed to that sort of thing, and it made me feel uncomfortable. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Oh, God bless you?’ he moaned, ‘God bless you! If +only you knew what I have gone through; and to think that you should have come +to help me, and at the risk of your own life! Well, you were always a true +friend—yes, yes, a true friend.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Bosh,’ I answered testily; ‘I’m a trader, and I +came after that ivory,’ and I pointed to the stockade of tusks. +‘Did you ever hear of an elephant-hunter who would not have risked his +immortal soul for them, and much more his carcase?’ +</p> + +<p> +“But he took no notice of my explanations, and went on God blessing me as +hard as ever, till at last I bethought me that a nip of brandy, of which I had +a flask full, might steady his nerves a bit. I gave it him, and was not +disappointed in the result, for he brisked up wonderfully. Then I hunted about +in Wambe’s hut, and found a kaross to put over his poor bruised +shoulders, and he was quite a man again. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Now,’ I said, ‘why did the late lamented Wambe want +to put you in that trap?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Because as soon as they heard that the fight was going against +them, and that Maiwa was charging at the head of Nala’s impi, one of the +women told Wambe that she had seen me write something on some leaves and give +them to Maiwa before she went away to purify herself. Then of course he guessed +that I had to do with your seizing the koppie and holding it while the impi +rushed the place from the mountain, so he determined to torture me to death +before help could come. Oh, heavens! what a mercy it is to hear English +again.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘How long have you been a prisoner here, Every?’ I asked. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Six years and a bit, Quatermain; I have lost count of the odd +months lately. I came up here with Major Aldey and three other gentlemen and +forty bearers. That devil Wambe ambushed us, and murdered the lot to get their +guns. They weren’t much use to him when he got them, being +breech-loaders, for the fools fired away all the ammunition in a month or two. +However, they are all in good order, and hanging up in the hut there. They +didn’t kill me because one of them saw me mending a gun just before they +attacked us, so they kept me as a kind of armourer. Twice I tried to make a +bolt of it, but was caught each time. Last time Wambe had me flogged very +nearly to death—you can see the scars upon my back. Indeed I should have +died if it hadn’t been for the girl Maiwa, who nursed me by stealth. He +got that accursed lion trap among our things also, and I suppose he has +tortured between one and two hundred people to death in it. It was his +favourite amusement, and he would go every day and sit and watch his victim +till he died. Sometimes he would give him food and water to keep him alive +longer, telling him or her that he would let him go if he lived till a certain +day. But he never did let them go. They all died there, and I could show you +their bones behind that rock.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘The devil!’ I said, grinding my teeth. ‘I wish I +hadn’t interfered; I wish I had left him to the same fate.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Well, he got a taste of it any way,’ said Every; +‘I’m glad he got a taste. There’s justice in it, and now +he’s gone to hell, and I hope there is another one ready for him there. +By Jove! I should like to have the setting of it.’ +</p> + +<p> +“And so he talked on, and I sat and listened to him, wondering how he had +kept his reason for so many years. But he didn’t talk as I have told it, +in plain English. He spoke very slowly, and as though he had got something in +his mouth, continually using native words because the English ones had slipped +his memory. +</p> + +<p> +“At last Nala came up and told us that food was made ready, and thankful +enough we were to get it, I can tell you. After we had eaten we held a +consultation. Quite a thousand of Wambe’s soldiers were put <i>hors de +combat</i>, but at least two thousand remained hidden in the bush and rocks, +and these men, together with those in the outlying kraals, were a source of +possible danger. The question arose, therefore, what was to be done—were +they to be followed or left alone? I waited till everybody had spoken, some +giving one opinion and some another, and then being appealed to I gave mine. It +was to the effect that Nala should take a leaf out of the great Zulu +T’Chaka’s book, and incorporate the tribe, not destroy it. We had a +good many women among the prisoners. Let them, I suggested, be sent to the +hiding-places of the soldiers and make an offer. If the men would come and lay +down their arms and declare allegiance to Nala, they and their town and cattle +should be spared. Wambe’s cattle alone would be seized as the prize of +war. Moreover, Wambe having left no children, his wife Maiwa should be declared +chieftainess of the tribe, under Nala. If they did not accept this offer by the +morning of the second day it should be taken as a declaration that they wished +to continue the war. Their town should be burned, their cattle, which our men +were already collecting and driving in in great numbers, would be taken, and +they should be hunted down. +</p> + +<p> +“This advice was at once declared to be wise, and acted on. The women +were despatched, and I saw from their faces that they never expected to get +such terms, and did not think that their mission would be in vain. +Nevertheless, we spent that afternoon in preparations against possible +surprise, and also in collecting all the wounded of both parties into a +hospital, which we extemporized out of some huts, and there attending to them +as best we could. +</p> + +<p> +“That evening Every had the first pipe of tobacco that he had tasted for +six years. Poor fellow, he nearly cried with joy over it. The night passed +without any sign of attack, and on the following morning we began to see the +effect of our message, for women, children, and a few men came in in little +knots, and took possession of their huts. It was of course rather difficult to +prevent our men from looting, and generally going on as natives, and for the +matter of that white men too, are in the habit of doing after a victory. But +one man who after warning was caught maltreating a woman was brought out and +killed by Nala’s order, and though there was a little grumbling, that put +a stop to further trouble. +</p> + +<p> +“On the second morning the head men and numbers of their followers came +in in groups, and about midday a deputation of the former presented themselves +before us without their weapons. They were conquered, they said, and Wambe was +dead, so they came to hear the words of the great lion who had eaten them up, +and of the crafty white man, the jackal, who had dug a hole for them to fall +in, and of Maiwa, Lady of War, who had led the charge and turned the fate of +the battle. +</p> + +<p> +“So we let them hear the words, and when we had done an old man rose and +said, that in the name of the people he accepted the yoke that was laid upon +their shoulders, and that the more gladly because even the rule of a woman +could not be worse than the rule of Wambe. Moreover, they knew Maiwa, the Lady +of War, and feared her not, though she was a witch and terrible to see in +battle. +</p> + +<p> +“Then Nala asked his daughter if she was willing to become chieftainess +of the tribe under him. +</p> + +<p> +“Maiwa, who had been very silent since her revenge was accomplished, +answered yes, that she was, and that her rule should be good and gentle to +those who were good and gentle to her, but the froward and rebellious she would +smite with a rod of iron; which from my knowledge of her character I thought +exceedingly probable. +</p> + +<p> +“The head man replied that that was a good saying, and they did not +complain at it, and so the meeting ended. +</p> + +<p> +“Next day we spent in preparations for departure. Mine consisted chiefly +in superintending the digging up of the stockade of ivory tusks, which I did +with the greatest satisfaction. There were some five hundred of them +altogether. I made inquiries about it from Every, who told me that the stockade +had been there so long that nobody seemed to know exactly who had collected the +tusks originally. There was, however, a kind of superstitious feeling about +them which had always prevented the chiefs from trying to sell this great mass +of ivory. Every and I examined it carefully, and found that although it was so +old its quality was really as good as ever, and there was very little soft +ivory in the lot. At first I was rather afraid lest, now that my services had +been rendered, Nala should hesitate to part with so much valuable property, but +this was not the case. When I spoke to him on the subject he merely said, +‘Take it, Macumazahn, take it; you have earned it well,’ and, to +speak the truth, though I say it who shouldn’t, I think I had. So we +pressed several hundred Matuku bearers into our service, and next day marched +off with the lot. +</p> + +<p> +“Before we went I took a formal farewell of Maiwa, whom we left with a +bodyguard of three hundred men to assist her in settling the country. She gave +me her hand to kiss in a queenly sort of way, and then said, +</p> + +<p> +“‘Macumazahn, you are a brave man, and have been a friend to me in +my need. If ever you want help or shelter, remember that Maiwa has a good +memory for friend and foe. All I have is yours. +</p> + +<p> +“And so I thanked her and went. She was certainly a very remarkable +woman. A year or two ago I heard that her father Nala was dead, and that she +had succeeded to the chieftainship of both tribes, which she ruled with great +justice and firmness. +</p> + +<p> +“I can assure you that we ascended the pass leading to Wambe’s town +with feelings very different from those with which we had descended it a few +days before. But if I was grateful for the issue of events, you can easily +imagine what poor Every’s feelings were. When we got to the top of the +pass, before the whole impi he actually flopped down upon his knees and thanked +Heaven for his escape, the tears running down his face. But then, as I have +said, his nerves were shaken—though now that his beard was trimmed and he +had some sort of clothes on his back, and hope in his heart, he looked a very +different man from the poor wretch whom we had rescued from death by torture. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, we separated from Nala at the little stairway or pass over the +mountain—Every and I and the ivory going down the river which I had come +up a few weeks before, and the chief returning to his own kraal on the further +side of the mountain. He gave us an escort of a hundred and fifty men, however, +with instructions to accompany us for six days’ journey, and to keep the +Matuku bearers in order and then return. I knew that in six days we should be +able to reach a district where porters were plentiful, and whence we could +easily get the ivory conveyed to Delagoa Bay.” +</p> + +<p> +“And did you land it up safe?” I asked. +</p> + +<p> +“Well no,” said Quatermain, “we lost about a third of it in +crossing a river. A flood came down suddenly just as the men were crossing and +many of them had to throw down their tusks to save their lives. We had no means +of dragging it up, and so we were obliged to leave it, which was very sad. +However, we sold what remained for nearly seven thousand pounds, so we did not +do so badly. I don’t mean that I got seven thousand pounds out of it, +because, you see, I insisted upon Every taking a half share. Poor fellow, he +had earned it, if ever a man did. He set up a store in the old colony on the +proceeds and did uncommonly well.” +</p> + +<p> +“And what did you do with the lion trap?” asked Sir Henry. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I brought that away with me also, and when I reached Durban I put it +in my house. But really I could not bear to sit opposite to it at nights as I +smoked. Visions of that poor woman and the hand of her dead child would rise up +in my mind, and also of all the horrors of which it had been the instrument. I +began to dream at last that it held me by the leg. This was too much for my +nerves, so I just packed it up and shipped it to its maker in England, whose +name was stamped upon the steel, sending him a letter at the same time to tell +him to what purpose the infernal machine had been put. I believe that he gave +it to some museum or other.” +</p> + +<p> +“And what became of the tusks of the three bulls which you shot! You must +have left them at Nala’s kraal, I suppose.” +</p> + +<p> +The old gentleman’s face fell at this question. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah,” he said, “that is a very sad story. Nala promised to +send them with my goods to my agent at Delagoa, and so he did. But the men who +brought them were unarmed, and, as it happened, they fell in with a slave +caravan under the command of a half-bred Portuguese, who seized the tusks, and +what is worse, swore that he had shot them. I paid him out afterwards, +however,” he added with a smile of satisfaction, “but it did not +give me back my tusks, which no doubt have been turned into hair brushes long +ago;” and he sighed. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said Good, “that is a capital yarn of yours, +Quatermain, but——” +</p> + +<p> +“But what?” he asked sharply, foreseeing a draw. +</p> + +<p> +“But I don’t think that it was so good as mine about the +ibex—it hasn’t the same <i>finish</i>.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Quatermain made no reply. Good was beneath it. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you know, gentlemen,” he said, “it is half-past two in +the morning, and if we are going to shoot the big wood to-morrow we ought to +leave here at nine-thirty sharp.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, if you shoot for a hundred years you will never beat the record of +those three woodcocks,” I said. +</p> + +<p> +“Or of those three elephants,” added Sir Henry. +</p> + +<p> +And then we all went to bed, and I dreamed that I had married Maiwa, and was +much afraid of that attractive but determined lady. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAIWA’S REVENGE ***</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 2713-h.htm or 2713-h.zip</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/1/2713/</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..94af51b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #2713 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2713) diff --git a/old/2713-8.txt b/old/2713-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..de0b75d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/2713-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3647 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Maiwa's Revenge, by H. Rider Haggard + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Maiwa's Revenge + The War of the Little Hand + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: March 31, 2006 [EBook #2713] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAIWA'S REVENGE *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny; Emma Dudding; David Widger + + + + + +MAIWA'S REVENGE + +OR THE WAR OF THE LITTLE HAND + + +by H. Rider Haggard + + + + +PREFACE + +It may be well to state that the incident of the "Thing that bites" +recorded in this tale is not an effort of the imagination. On the +contrary, it is "plagiarized." Mandara, a well-known chief on the east +coast of Africa, has such an article, _and uses it_. In the same way the +wicked conduct attributed to Wambe is not without a precedent. T'Chaka, +the Zulu Napoleon, never allowed a child of his to live. Indeed he went +further, for on discovering that his mother, Unandi, was bringing up one +of his sons in secret, like Nero he killed her, and with his own hand. + + + + + +MAIWA'S REVENGE + + + + +I--GOBO STRIKES + +One day--it was about a week after Allan Quatermain told me his story +of the "Three Lions," and of the moving death of Jim-Jim--he and I were +walking home together on the termination of a day's shooting. He owned +about two thousand acres of shooting round the place he had bought in +Yorkshire, over a hundred of which were wood. It was the second year of +his occupation of the estate, and already he had reared a very fair head +of pheasants, for he was an all-round sportsman, and as fond of shooting +with a shot-gun as with an eight-bore rifle. We were three guns that +day, Sir Henry Curtis, Old Quatermain, and myself; but Sir Henry was +obliged to leave in the middle of the afternoon in order to meet +his agent, and inspect an outlying farm where a new shed was wanted. +However, he was coming back to dinner, and going to bring Captain Good +with him, for Brayley Hall was not more than two miles from the Grange. + +We had met with very fair sport, considering that we were only +going through outlying cover for cocks. I think that we had killed +twenty-seven, a woodcock and a leash of partridges which we secured +out of a driven covey. On our way home there lay a long narrow spinney, +which was a very favourite "lie" for woodcocks, and generally held a +pheasant or two as well. + +"Well, what do you say?" said old Quatermain, "shall we beat through +this for a finish?" + +I assented, and he called to the keeper who was following with a little +knot of beaters, and told him to beat the spinney. + +"Very well, sir," answered the man, "but it's getting wonderful dark, +and the wind's rising a gale. It will take you all your time to hit a +woodcock if the spinney holds one." + +"You show us the woodcocks, Jeffries," answered Quatermain quickly, for +he never liked being crossed in anything to do with sport, "and we will +look after shooting them." + +The man turned and went rather sulkily. I heard him say to the +under-keeper, "He's pretty good, the master is, I'm not saying he isn't, +but if he kills a woodcock in this light and wind, I'm a Dutchman." + +I think that Quatermain heard him too, though he said nothing. The wind +was rising every minute, and by the time the beat begun it blew big +guns. I stood at the right-hand corner of the spinney, which curved +round somewhat, and Quatermain stood at the left, about forty paces from +me. Presently an old cock pheasant came rocketing over me, looking as +though the feathers were being blown out of his tail. I missed him clean +with the first barrel, and was never more pleased with myself in my life +than when I doubled him up with the second, for the shot was not an +easy one. In the faint light I could see Quatermain nodding his head in +approval, when through the groaning of the trees I heard the shouts of +the beaters, "Cock forward, cock to the right." Then came a whole volley +of shouts, "Woodcock to the right," "Cock to the left," "Cock over." + +I looked up, and presently caught sight of one of the woodcocks coming +down the wind upon me like a flash. In that dim light I could not follow +all his movements as he zigzagged through the naked tree-tops; indeed I +could see him when his wings flitted up. Now he was passing me--_bang_, +and a flick of the wing, I had missed him; _bang_ again. Surely he was +down; no, there he went to my left. + +"Cock to you," I shouted, stepping forward so as to get Quatermain +between me and the faint angry light of the dying day, for I wanted to +see if he would "wipe my eye." I knew him to be a wonderful shot, but I +thought that cock would puzzle him. + +I saw him raise his gun ever so little and bend forward, and at that +moment out flashed two woodcocks into the open, the one I had missed to +his right, and the other to his left. + +At the same time a fresh shout arose of, "Woodcock over," and looking +down the spinney I saw a third bird high up in the air, being blown +along like a brown and whirling leaf straight over Quatermain's head. +And then followed the prettiest little bit of shooting that I ever saw. +The bird to the right was flying low, not ten yards from the line of +a hedgerow, and Quatermain took him first because he would become +invisible the soonest of any. Indeed, nobody who had not his hawk's eyes +could have seen to shoot at all. But he saw the bird well enough to kill +it dead as a stone. Then turning sharply, he pulled on the second bird +at about forty-five yards, and over he went. By this time the third +woodcock was nearly over him, and flying very high, straight down the +wind, a hundred feet up or more, I should say. I saw him glance at it as +he opened his gun, threw out the right cartridge and slipped in another, +turning round as he did so. By this time the cock was nearly fifty yards +away from him, and travelling like a flash. Lifting his gun he fired +after it, and, wonderful as the shot was, killed it dead. A tearing gust +of wind caught the dead bird, and blew it away like a leaf torn from an +oak, so that it fell a hundred and thirty yards off or more. + +"I say, Quatermain," I said to him when the beaters were up, "do you +often do this sort of thing?" + +"Well," he answered, with a dry smile, "the last time I had to load +three shots as quickly as that was at rather larger game. It was at +elephants. I killed them all three as dead as I killed those woodcocks; +but it very nearly went the other way, I can tell you; I mean that they +very nearly killed me." + +Just at that moment the keeper came up, "Did you happen to get one of +them there cocks, sir?" he said, with the air of a man who did not in +the least expect an answer in the affirmative. + +"Well, yes, Jeffries," answered Quatermain; "you will find one of them +by the hedge, and another about fifty yards out by the plough there to +the left----" + +The keeper had turned to go, looking a little astonished, when +Quatermain called him back. + +"Stop a bit, Jeffries," he said. "You see that pollard about one hundred +and forty yards off? Well, there should be another woodcock down in a +line with it, about sixty paces out in the field." + +"Well, if that bean't the very smartest bit of shooting," murmured +Jeffries, and departed. + +After that we went home, and in due course Sir Henry Curtis and Captain +Good arrived for dinner, the latter arrayed in the tightest and most +ornamental dress-suit I ever saw. I remember that the waistcoat was +adorned with five pink coral buttons. + +It was a very pleasant dinner. Old Quatermain was in an excellent +humour; induced, I think, by the recollection of his triumph over the +doubting Jeffries. Good, too, was full of anecdotes. He told us a most +miraculous story of how he once went shooting ibex in Kashmir. These +ibex, according to Good, he stalked early and late for four entire days. +At last on the morning of the fifth day he succeeded in getting within +range of the flock, which consisted of a magnificent old ram with horns +so long that I am afraid to mention their measure, and five or six +females. Good crawled upon his stomach, painfully taking shelter behind +rocks, till he was within two hundred yards; then he drew a fine bead +upon the old ram. At this moment, however, a diversion occurred. Some +wandering native of the hills appeared upon a distant mountain top. The +females turned, and rushing over a rock vanished from Good's ken. But +the old ram took a bolder course. In front of him stretched a mighty +crevasse at least thirty feet in width. He went at it with a bound. +Whilst he was in mid-air Good fired, and killed him dead. The ram turned +a complete somersault in space, and fell in such fashion that his horns +hooked themselves upon a big projection of the opposite cliffs. There he +hung, till Good, after a long and painful dtour, gracefully dropped a +lasso over him and fished him up. + +This moving tale of wild adventure was received with undeserved +incredulity. + +"Well," said Good, "if you fellows won't believe my story when I tell +it--a perfectly true story mind--perhaps one of you will give us a +better; I'm not particular if it is true or not." And he lapsed into a +dignified silence. + +"Now, Quatermain," I said, "don't let Good beat you, let us hear how you +killed those elephants you were talking about this evening just after +you shot the woodcocks." + +"Well," said Quatermain, dryly, and with something like a twinkle in +his brown eyes, "it is very hard fortune for a man to have to follow on +Good's 'spoor.' Indeed if it were not for that running giraffe which, as +you will remember, Curtis, we saw Good bowl over with a Martini rifle +at three hundred yards, I should almost have said that this was an +impossible tale." + +Here Good looked up with an air of indignant innocence. + +"However," he went on, rising and lighting his pipe, "if you fellows +like, I will spin you a yarn. I was telling one of you the other night +about those three lions and how the lioness finished my unfortunate +'voorlooper,' Jim-Jim, the boy whom we buried in the bread-bag. + +"Well, after this little experience I thought that I would settle down a +bit, so I entered upon a venture with a man who, being of a speculative +mind, had conceived the idea of running a store at Pretoria upon +strictly cash principles. The arrangement was that I should find +the capital and he the experience. Our partnership was not of a long +duration. The Boers refused to pay cash, and at the end of four months +my partner had the capital and I had the experience. After this I came +to the conclusion that store-keeping was not in my line, and having +four hundred pounds left, I sent my boy Harry to a school in Natal, and +buying an outfit with what remained of the money, started upon a big +trip. + +"This time I determined to go further afield than I had ever been +before; so I took a passage for a few pounds in a trading brig that +ran between Durban and Delagoa Bay. From Delagoa Bay I marched inland +accompanied by twenty porters, with the idea of striking up north, +towards the Limpopo, and keeping parallel to the coast, but at a +distance of about one hundred and fifty miles from it. For the first +twenty days of our journey we suffered a good deal from fever, that is, +my men did, for I think that I am fever proof. Also I was hard put to +it to keep the camp in meat, for although the country proved to be very +sparsely populated, there was but little game about. Indeed, during all +that time I hardly killed anything larger than a waterbuck, and, as you +know, waterbuck's flesh is not very appetising food. On the twentieth +day, however, we came to the banks of a largish river, the Gonooroo it +was called. This I crossed, and then struck inland towards a great range +of mountains, the blue crests of which we could see lying on the distant +heavens like a shadow, a continuation, as I believe, of the Drakensberg +range that skirts the coast of Natal. From this main range a great spur +shoots out some fifty miles or so towards the coast, ending abruptly in +one tremendous peak. This spur I discovered separated the territories of +two chiefs named Nala and Wambe, Wambe's territory being to the north, +and Nala's to the south. Nala ruled a tribe of bastard Zulus called +the Butiana, and Wambe a much larger tribe, called the Matuku, which +presents marked Bantu characteristics. For instance, they have doors and +verandahs to their huts, work skins perfectly, and wear a waistcloth and +not a moocha. At this time the Butiana were more or less subject to +the Matuku, having been surprised by them some twenty years before +and mercilessly slaughtered down. The tribe was now recovering itself, +however, and as you may imagine, it did not love the Matuku. + +"Well, I heard as I went along that elephants were very plentiful in the +dense forests which lie upon the slopes and at the foot of the mountains +that border Wambe's territory. Also I heard a very ill report of that +worthy himself, who lived in a kraal upon the side of the mountain, +which was so strongly fortified as to be practically impregnable. It was +said that he was the most cruel chief in this part of Africa, and that +he had murdered in cold blood an entire party of English gentlemen, who, +some seven years before, had gone into his country to hunt elephants. +They took an old friend of mine with them as guide, John Every by name, +and often had I mourned over his untimely death. All the same, Wambe +or no Wambe, I determined to hunt elephants in his country. I never was +afraid of natives, and I was not going to show the white feather now. I +am a bit of a fatalist, as you fellows know, so I came to the conclusion +that if it was fated that Wambe should send me to join my old friend +John Every, I should have to go, and there was an end of it. Meanwhile, +I meant to hunt elephants with a peaceful heart. + +"On the third day from the date of our sighting the great peak, we found +ourselves beneath its shadow. Still following the course of the river +which wound through the forests at the base of the peak, we entered the +territory of the redoubtable Wambe. This, however, was not accomplished +without a certain difference of opinion between my bearers and myself, +for when we reached the spot where Wambe's boundary was supposed to run, +the bearers sat down and emphatically refused to go a step further. I +sat down too, and argued with them, putting my fatalistic views before +them as well as I was able. But I could not persuade them to look at +the matter in the same light. 'At present,' they said, 'their skins were +whole; if they went into Wambe's country without his leave they would +soon be like a water-eaten leaf. It was very well for me to say that +this would be Fate. Fate no doubt might be walking about in Wambe's +country, but while they stopped outside they would not meet him.' + +"'Well,' I said to Gobo, my head man, 'and what do you mean to do?' + +"'We mean to go back to the coast, Macumazahn,' he answered insolently. + +"'Do you?' I replied, for my bile was stirred. 'At any rate, Mr. Gobo, +you and one or two others will never get there; see here, my friend,' +and I took a repeating rifle and sat myself comfortably down, resting my +back against a tree--'I have just breakfasted, and I had as soon spend +the day here as anywhere else. Now if you or any of those men walk one +step back from here, and towards the coast, I shall fire at you; and you +know that I don't miss.' + +"The man fingered the spear he was carrying--luckily all my guns were +stacked against the tree--and then turned as though to walk away, the +others keeping their eyes fixed upon him all the while. I rose and +covered him with the rifle, and though he kept up a brave appearance of +unconcern, I saw that he was glancing nervously at me all the time. When +he had gone about twenty yards I spoke very quietly-- + +"'Now, Gobo,' I said, 'come back, or I shall fire.' + +"Of course this was taking a very high hand; I had no real right to kill +Gobo or anybody else because they objected to run the risk of death by +entering the territory of a hostile chief. But I felt that if I wished +to keep up any authority it was absolutely necessary that I should push +matters to the last extremity short of actually shooting him. So I sat +there, looking fierce as a lion, and keeping the sight of my rifle in +a dead line for Gobo's ribs. Then Gobo, feeling that the situation was +getting strained, gave in. + +"'Don't shoot, Boss,' he shouted, throwing up his hand, 'I will come +with you.' + +"'I thought you would,' I answered quietly; 'you see Fate walks about +outside Wambe's country as well as in it.' + +"After that I had no more trouble, for Gobo was the ringleader, and when +he collapsed the others collapsed also. Harmony being thus restored, we +crossed the line, and on the following morning I began shooting in good +earnest." + + + + +II--A MORNING'S SPORT + +"Moving some five or six miles round the base of the great peak of +which I have spoken, we came the same day to one of the fairest bits of +African country that I have seen outside of Kukuanaland. At this spot +the mountain spur that runs out at right angles to the great range, +which stretches its cloud-clad length north and south as far as the eye +can reach, sweeps inwards with a vast and splendid curve. This curve +measures some five-and-thirty miles from point to point, and across +its moon-like segment the river flashed, a silver line of light. On the +further side of the river is a measureless sea of swelling ground, a +natural park covered with great patches of bush--some of them being many +square miles in extent. These are separated one from another by glades +of grass land, broken here and there with clumps of timber trees; and in +some instances by curious isolated koppies, and even by single crags of +granite that start up into the air as though they were monuments carved +by man, and not tombstones set by nature over the grave of ages gone. On +the west this beautiful plain is bordered by the lonely mountain, from +the edge of which it rolls down toward the fever coast; but how far it +runs to the north I cannot say--eight days' journey, according to the +natives, when it is lost in an untravelled morass. + +"On the hither side of the river the scenery is different. Along the +edge of its banks, where the land is flat, are green patches of swamp. +Then comes a wide belt of beautiful grass land covered thickly with +game, and sloping up very gently to the borders of the forest, which, +beginning at about a thousand feet above the level of the plain, clothes +the mountain-side almost to its crest. In this forest grow great trees, +most of them of the yellow-wood species. Some of these trees are so +lofty, that a bird in their top branches would be out of range of an +ordinary shot gun. Another peculiar thing about them is, that they are +for the most part covered with a dense growth of the Orchilla moss; and +from this moss the natives manufacture a most excellent deep purple dye, +with which they stain tanned hides and also cloth, when they happen +to get any of the latter. I do not think that I ever saw anything more +remarkable than the appearance of one of these mighty trees festooned +from top to bottom with trailing wreaths of this sad-hued moss, in which +the wind whispers gently as it stirs them. At a distance it looks like +the gray locks of a Titan crowned with bright green leaves, and here and +there starred with the rich bloom of orchids. + +"The night of that day on which I had my little difference of opinion +with Gobo, we camped by the edge of this great forest, and on the +following morning at daylight I started out shooting. As we were short +of meat I determined to kill a buffalo, of which there were plenty +about, before looking for traces of elephants. Not more than half a mile +from camp we came across a trail broad as a cart-road, evidently made by +a great herd of buffaloes which had passed up at dawn from their feeding +ground in the marshes, to spend the day in the cool air of the uplands. +This trail I followed boldly; for such wind as there was blew straight +down the mountain-side, that is, from the direction in which the +buffaloes had gone, to me. About a mile further on the forest began to +be dense, and the nature of the trail showed me that I must be close to +my game. Another two hundred yards and the bush was so thick that, had +it not been for the trail, we could scarcely have passed through it. +As it was, Gobo, who carried my eight-bore rifle (for I had the +.570-express in my hand), and the other two men whom I had taken with +me, showed the very strongest dislike to going any further, pointing +out that there was 'no room to run away.' I told them that they need +not come unless they liked, but that I was certainly going on; and then, +growing ashamed, they came. + +"Another fifty yards, and the trail opened into a little glade. I knelt +down and peeped and peered, but no buffalo could I see. Evidently the +herd had broken up here--I knew that from the spoor--and penetrated the +opposite bush in little troops. I crossed the glade, and choosing one +line of spoor, followed it for some sixty yards, when it became clear +to me that I was surrounded by buffaloes; and yet so dense was the +cover that I could not see any. A few yards to my left I could hear one +rubbing its horns against a tree, while from my right came an occasional +low and throaty grunt which told me that I was uncomfortably near an +old bull. I crept on towards him with my heart in my mouth, as gently as +though I were walking upon eggs for a bet, lifting every little bit of +wood in my path, and placing it behind me lest it should crack and warn +the game. After me in single file came my three retainers, and I don't +know which of them looked the most frightened. Presently Gobo touched my +leg; I glanced round, and saw him pointing slantwise towards the left. +I lifted my head a little and peeped over a mass of creepers; beyond the +creepers was a dense bush of sharp-pointed aloes, of that kind of which +the leaves project laterally, and on the other side of the aloes, not +fifteen paces from us, I made out the horns, neck, and the ridge of the +back of a tremendous old bull. I took my eight-bore, and getting on +to my knee prepared to shoot him through the neck, taking my chance of +cutting his spine. I had already covered him as well as the aloe leaves +would allow, when he gave a kind of sigh and lay down. + +"I looked round in dismay. What was to be done now? I could not see +to shoot him lying down, even if my bullet would have pierced the +intervening aloes--which was doubtful--and if I stood up he would either +run away or charge me. I reflected, and came to the conclusion that the +only thing to do was to lie down also; for I did not fancy wandering +after other buffaloes in that dense bush. If a buffalo lies down, it +is clear that he must get up again some time, so it was only a case of +patience--'fighting the fight of sit down,' as the Zulus say. + +"Accordingly I sat down and lighted a pipe, thinking that the smell of +it might reach the buffalo and make him get up. But the wind was the +wrong way, and it did not; so when it was done I lit another. Afterwards +I had cause to regret that pipe. + +"Well, we squatted like this for between half and three quarters of an +hour, till at length I began to grow heartily sick of the performance. +It was about as dull a business as the last hour of a comic opera. +I could hear buffaloes snorting and moving all round, and see the +red-beaked tic birds flying up off their backs, making a kind of hiss +as they did so, something like that of the English missel-thrush, but I +could not see a single buffalo. As for my old bull, I think he must have +slept the sleep of the just, for he never even stirred. + +"Just as I was making up my mind that something must be done to save the +situation, my attention was attracted by a curious grinding noise. +At first I thought that it must be a buffalo chewing the cud, but was +obliged to abandon the idea because the noise was too loud. I shifted +myself round and stared through the cracks in the bush, in the direction +whence the sound seemed to come, and once I thought that I saw something +gray moving about fifty yards off, but could not make certain. Although +the grinding noise still continued I could see nothing more, so I gave +up thinking about it, and once again turned my attention to the buffalo. +Presently, however, something happened. Suddenly from about forty yards +away there came a tremendous snorting sound, more like that made by +an engine getting a heavy train under weigh than anything else in the +world. + +"'By Jove,' I thought, turning round in the direction from which the +grinding sound had come, 'that must be a rhinoceros, and he has got our +wind.' For, as you fellows know, there is no mistaking the sound made by +a rhinoceros when he gets wind of you. + +"Another second, and I heard a most tremendous crashing noise. Before I +could think what to do, before I could even get up, the bush behind me +seemed to burst asunder, and there appeared not eight yards from us, +the great horn and wicked twinkling eye of a charging rhinoceros. He +had winded us or my pipe, I do not know which, and, after the fashion +of these brutes, had charged up the scent. I could not rise, I could +not even get the gun up, I had no time. All that I was able to do was +to roll over as far out of the monster's path as the bush would allow. +Another second and he was over me, his great bulk towering above me +like a mountain, and, upon my word, I could not get his smell out of my +nostrils for a week. Circumstances impressed it on my memory, at least I +suppose so. His hot breath blew upon my face, one of his front feet just +missed my head, and his hind one actually trod upon the loose part of +my trousers and pinched a little bit of my skin. I saw him pass over me +lying as I was upon my back, and next second I saw something else. My +men were a little behind me, and therefore straight in the path of the +rhinoceros. One of them flung himself backwards into the bush, and thus +avoided him. The second with a wild yell sprung to his feet, and bounded +like an india-rubber ball right into the aloe bush, landing well among +the spikes. But the third, it was my friend Gobo, could not by any means +get away. He managed to gain his feet, and that was all. The rhinoceros +was charging with his head low; his horn passed between Gobo's legs, +and feeling something on his nose, he jerked it up. Away went Gobo, high +into the air. He turned a complete somersault at the apex of the curve, +and as he did so, I caught sight of his face. It was gray with terror, +and his mouth was wide open. Down he came, right on to the great brute's +back, and that broke his fall. Luckily for him the rhinoceros never +turned, but crashed straight through the aloe bush, only missing the man +who had jumped into it by about a yard. + +"Then followed a complication. The sleeping buffalo on the further side +of the bush, hearing the noise, sprang to his feet, and for a second, +not knowing what to do, stood still. At that instant the huge rhinoceros +blundered right on to him, and getting his horn beneath his stomach gave +him such a fearful dig that the buffalo was turned over on to his back, +while his assailant went a most amazing cropper over his carcase. In +another moment, however, the rhinoceros was up, and wheeling round +to the left, crashed through the bush down-hill and towards the open +country. + +"Instantly the whole place became alive with alarming sounds. In every +direction troops of snorting buffaloes charged through the forest, wild +with fright, while the injured bull on the further side of the bush +began to bellow like a mad thing. I lay quite still for a moment, +devoutly praying that none of the flying buffaloes would come my way. +Then when the danger lessened I got on to my feet, shook myself, and +looked round. One of my boys, he who had thrown himself backward into +the bush, was already half way up a tree--if heaven had been at the top +of it he could not have climbed quicker. Gobo was lying close to me, +groaning vigorously, but, as I suspected, quite unhurt; while from the +aloe bush into which No. 3 had bounded like a tennis ball, issued a +succession of the most piercing yells. + +"I looked, and saw that this unfortunate fellow was in a very tight +place. A great spike of aloe had run through the back of his skin +waist-belt, though without piercing his flesh, in such a fashion that it +was impossible for him to move, while within six feet of him the injured +buffalo bull, thinking, no doubt, that he was the aggressor, bellowed +and ramped to get at him, tearing the thick aloes with his great horns. +That no time was to be lost, if I wished to save the man's life, was +very clear. So seizing my eight-bore, which was fortunately uninjured, I +took a pace to the left, for the rhinoceros had enlarged the hole in the +bush, and aimed at the point of the buffalo's shoulder, since on account +of my position I could not get a fair side shot for the heart. As I did +so I saw that the rhinoceros had given the bull a tremendous wound +in the stomach, and that the shock of the encounter had put his left +hind-leg out of joint at the hip. I fired, and the bullet striking the +shoulder broke it, and knocked the buffalo down. I knew that he could +not get up any more, because he was now injured fore and aft, so +notwithstanding his terrific bellows I scrambled round to where he was. +There he lay glaring furiously and tearing up the soil with his horns. +Stepping up to within two yards of him I aimed at the vertebra of his +neck and fired. The bullet struck true, and with a thud he dropped his +head upon the ground, groaned, and died. + +"This little matter having been attended to with the assistance of +Gobo, who had now found his feet, I went on to extricate our unfortunate +companion from the aloe bush. This we found a thorny task, but at last +he was dragged forth uninjured, though in a very pious and prayerful +frame of mind. His 'spirit had certainly looked that way,' he said, +or he would now have been dead. As I never like to interfere with true +piety, I did not venture to suggest that his spirit had deigned to make +use of my eight-bore in his interest. + +"Having despatched this boy back to the camp to tell the bearers to come +and cut the buffalo up, I bethought me that I owed that rhinoceros a +grudge which I should love to repay. So without saying a word of what +was in my mind to Gobo, who was now more than ever convinced that Fate +walked about loose in Wambe's country, I just followed on the brute's +spoor. He had crashed through the bush till he reached the little glade. +Then moderating his pace somewhat, he had followed the glade down its +entire length, and once more turned to the right through the forest, +shaping his course for the open land that lies between the edge of the +bush and the river. Having followed him for a mile or so further, I +found myself quite on the open. I took out my glasses and searched +the plain. About a mile ahead was something brown--as I thought, the +rhinoceros. I advanced another quarter of a mile, and looked once +more--it was not the rhinoceros, but a big ant-heap. This was puzzling, +but I did not like to give it up, because I knew from his spoor that he +must be somewhere ahead. But as the wind was blowing straight from me +towards the line that he had followed, and as a rhinoceros can smell you +for about a mile, it would not, I felt, be safe to follow his trail +any further; so I made a dtour of a mile and more, till I was nearly +opposite the ant-heap, and then once more searched the plain. It was no +good, I could see nothing of him, and was about to give it up and start +after some oryx I saw on the skyline, when suddenly at a distance of +about three hundred yards from the ant-heap, and on its further side, I +saw my rhino stand up in a patch of grass. + +"'Heavens!' I thought to myself, 'he's off again;' but no, after +standing staring for a minute or two he once more lay down. + +"Now I found myself in a quandary. As you know, a rhinoceros is a very +short-sighted brute, indeed his sight is as bad as his scent is good. +Of this fact he is perfectly aware, but he always makes the most of his +natural gifts. For instance, when he lies down he invariably does so +with his head down wind. Thus, if any enemy crosses his wind he will +still be able to escape, or attack him; and if, on the other hand, the +danger approaches up wind he will at least have a chance of seeing it. +Otherwise, by walking delicately, one might actually kick him up like a +partridge, if only the advance was made up wind. + +"Well, the point was, how on earth should I get within shot of this +rhinoceros? After much deliberation I determined to try a side approach, +thinking that in this way I might get a shoulder shot. Accordingly we +started in a crouching attitude, I first, Gobo holding on to my coat +tails, and the other boy on to Gobo's moocha. I always adopt this plan +when stalking big game, for if you follow any other system the bearers +will get out of line. We arrived within three hundred yards safely +enough, and then the real difficulties began. The grass had been +so closely eaten off by game that there was scarcely any cover. +Consequently it was necessary to go on to our hands and knees, which +in my case involved laying down the eight-bore at every step and then +lifting it up again. However, I wriggled along somehow, and if it had +not been for Gobo and his friend no doubt everything would have gone +well. But as you have, I dare say, observed, a native out stalking is +always of that mind which is supposed to actuate an ostrich--so long as +his head is hidden he seems to think that nothing else can be seen. So +it was in this instance, Gobo and the other boy crept along on their +hands and toes with their heads well down, but, though unfortunately +I did not notice it till too late, bearing the fundamental portions of +their frames high in the air. Now all animals are quite as suspicious of +this end of mankind as they are of his face, and of that fact I soon had +a proof. Just when we had got within about two hundred yards, and I was +congratulating myself that I had not had this long crawl with the sun +beating on the back of my neck like a furnace for nothing, I heard the +hissing note of the rhinoceros birds, and up flew four or five of them +from the brute's back, where they had been comfortably employed in +catching tics. Now this performance on the part of the birds is to a +rhinoceros what the word 'cave' is to a schoolboy--it puts him on the +_qui vive_ at once. Before the birds were well in the air I saw the +grass stir. + +"'Down you go,' I whispered to the boys, and as I did so the rhinoceros +got up and glared suspiciously around. But he could see nothing, indeed +if we had been standing up I doubt if he would have seen us at that +distance; so he merely gave two or three sniffs and then lay down, his +head still down wind, the birds once more settling on his back. + +"But it was clear to me that he was sleeping with one eye open, being +generally in a suspicious and unchristian frame of mind, and that it +was useless to proceed further on this stalk, so we quietly withdrew +to consider the position and study the ground. The results were not +satisfactory. There was absolutely no cover about except the ant-heap, +which was some three hundred yards from the rhinoceros upon his up-wind +side. I knew that if I tried to stalk him in front I should fail, and so +I should if I attempted to do so from the further side--he or the birds +would see me; so I came to a conclusion: I would go to the ant-heap, +which would give him my wind, and instead of stalking him I would let +him stalk me. It was a bold step, and one which I should never advise a +hunter to take, but somehow I felt as though rhino and I must play the +hand out. + +"I explained my intentions to the men, who both held up their arms in +horror. Their fears for my safety were a little mitigated, however, when +I told them that I did not expect them to come with me. + +"Gobo breathed a prayer that I might not meet Fate walking about, and +the other one sincerely trusted that my spirit might look my way when +the rhinoceros charged, and then they both departed to a place of +safety. + +"Taking my eight-bore, and half-a-dozen spare cartridges in my pocket, +I made a dtour, and reaching the ant-heap in safety lay down. For a +moment the wind had dropped, but presently a gentle puff of air passed +over me, and blew on towards the rhinoceros. By the way, I wonder what +it is that smells so strong about a man? Is it his body or his breath? +I have never been able to make out, but I saw it stated the other day, +that in the duck decoys the man who is working the ducks holds a little +piece of burning turf before his mouth, and that if he does this they +cannot smell him, which looks as though it were the breath. Well, +whatever it was about me that attracted his attention, the rhinoceros +soon smelt me, for within half a minute after the puff of wind had +passed me he was on his legs, and turning round to get his head up wind. +There he stood for a few seconds and sniffed, and then he began to move, +first of all at a trot, then, as the scent grew stronger, at a furious +gallop. On he came, snorting like a runaway engine, with his tail stuck +straight up in the air; if he had seen me lie down there he could not +have made a better line. It was rather nervous work, I can tell you, +lying there waiting for his onslaught, for he looked like a mountain of +flesh. I determined, however, not to fire till I could plainly see his +eye, for I think that rule always gives one the right distance for big +game; so I rested my rifle on the ant-heap and waited for him, kneeling. +At last, when he was about forty yards away, I saw that the time had +come, and aiming straight for the middle of the chest I pulled. + +"_Thud_ went the heavy bullet, and with a tremendous snort over rolled +the rhinoceros beneath its shock, just like a shot rabbit. But if I had +thought that he was done for I was mistaken, for in another second he +was up again, and coming at me as hard as ever, only with his head held +low. I waited till he was within ten yards, in the hope that he would +expose his chest, but he would do nothing of the sort; so I just had to +fire at his head with the left barrel, and take my chance. Well, as +luck would have it, of course the animal put its horn in the way of the +bullet, which cut clean through it about three inches above the root and +then glanced off into space. + +"After that things got rather serious. My gun was empty and the +rhinoceros was rapidly arriving, so rapidly indeed that I came to the +conclusion that I had better make way for him. Accordingly I jumped +to my feet and ran to the right as hard as I could go. As I did so he +arrived full tilt, knocked my friendly ant-heap flat, and for the +third time that day went a most magnificent cropper. This gave me a few +seconds' start, and I ran down wind--my word, I did run! Unfortunately, +however, my modest retreat was observed, and the rhinoceros, as soon as +he had found his legs again, set to work to run after me. Now no man on +earth can run so fast as an irritated rhinoceros can gallop, and I knew +that he must soon catch me up. But having some slight experience of +this sort of thing, luckily for myself, I kept my head, and as I fled +I managed to open my rifle, get the old cartridges out, and put in two +fresh ones. To do this I was obliged to steady my pace a little, and by +the time that I had snapped the rifle to I heard the beast snorting and +thundering away within a few paces of my back. I stopped, and as I did +so rapidly cocked the rifle and slued round upon my heel. By this time +the brute was within six or seven yards of me, but luckily his head was +up. I lifted the rifle and fired at him. It was a snap shot, but the +bullet struck him in the chest within three inches of the first, and +found its way into his lungs. It did not stop him, however, so all I +could do was to bound to one side, which I did with surprising activity, +and as he brushed past me to fire the other barrel into his side. That +did for him. The ball passed in behind the shoulder and right through +his heart. He fell over on to his side, gave one more awful squeal--a +dozen pigs could not have made such a noise--and promptly died, keeping +his wicked eyes wide open all the time. + +"As for me, I blew my nose, and going up to the rhinoceros sat on his +head, and reflected that I had done a capital morning's shooting." + + + + +III--THE FIRST ROUND + +"After this, as it was now midday, and I had killed enough meat, we +marched back triumphantly to camp, where I proceeded to concoct a stew +of buffalo beef and compressed vegetables. When this was ready we ate +the stew, and then I took a nap. About four o'clock, however, Gobo +woke me up, and told me that the head man of one of Wambe's kraals had +arrived to see me. I ordered him to be brought up, and presently he +came, a little, wizened, talkative old man, with a waistcloth round his +middle, and a greasy, frayed kaross made of the skins of rock rabbits +over his shoulders. + +"I told him to sit down, and then abused him roundly. 'What did he +mean,' I asked, 'by disturbing me in this rude way? How did he dare to +cause a person of my quality and evident importance to be awakened in +order to interview his entirely contemptible self?' + +"I spoke thus because I knew that it would produce an impression on him. +Nobody, except a really great man, he would argue, would dare to speak +to him in that fashion. Most savages are desperate bullies at heart, and +look on insolence as a sign of power. + +"The old man instantly collapsed. He was utterly overcome, he said; +his heart was split in two, and well realized the extent of his +misbehaviour. But the occasion was very urgent. He heard that a mighty +hunter was in the neighbourhood, a beautiful white man, how beautiful +he could not have imagined had he not seen (this to me!), and he came to +beg his assistance. The truth was, that three bull elephants such as no +man ever saw had for years been the terror of their kraal, which was +but a small place--a cattle kraal of the great chief Wambe's, where they +lived to keep the cattle. And now of late these elephants had done them +much damage; but last night they had destroyed a whole patch of mealie +land, and he feared that if they came back they would all starve next +season for want of food. Would the mighty white man then be pleased to +come and kill the elephants? It would be easy for him to do--oh, most +easy! It was only necessary that he should hide himself in a tree, for +there was a full moon, and then when the elephants appeared he would +speak to them with the gun, and they would fall down dead, and there +would be an end of their troubling. + +"Of course I hummed and hawed, and made a great favour of consenting to +his proposal, though really I was delighted to have such a chance. One +of the conditions that I made was that a messenger should at once be +despatched to Wambe, whose kraal was two days' journey from where I was, +telling him that I proposed to come and pay my respects to him in a few +days, and to ask his formal permission to shoot in his country. Also +I intimated that I was prepared to present him with 'hongo,' that is, +blackmail, and that I hoped to do a little trade with him in ivory, of +which I heard he had a great quantity. + +"This message the old gentleman promised to despatch at once, though +there was something about his manner which showed me that he was +doubtful as to how it would be received. After that we struck our camp +and moved on to the kraal, which we reached about an hour before sunset. +This kraal was a collection of huts surrounded by a slight thorn-fence, +perhaps there were ten of them in all. It was situated in a kloof of the +mountain down which a rivulet flowed. The kloof was densely wooded, but +for some distance above the kraal it was free from bush, and here on the +rich deep ground brought down by the rivulet were the cultivated lands, +in extent somewhere about twenty or twenty-five acres. On the kraal side +of these lands stood a single hut, that served for a mealie store, which +at the moment was used as a dwelling-place by an old woman, the first +wife of our friend the head man. + +"It appears that this lady, having had some difference of opinion with +her husband about the extent of authority allowed to a younger and more +amiable wife, had refused to dwell in the kraal any more, and, by way +of marking her displeasure, had taken up her abode among the mealies. As +the issue will show, she was, it happened, cutting off her nose to spite +her face. + +"Close by this hut grew a large baobab tree. A glance at the mealie +grounds showed me that the old head man had not exaggerated the mischief +done by the elephants to his crops, which were now getting ripe. Nearly +half of the entire patch was destroyed. The great brutes had eaten all +they could, and the rest they had trampled down. I went up to their +spoor and started back in amazement--never had I seen such a spoor +before. It was simply enormous, more especially that of one old bull, +that carried, so said the natives, but a single tusk. One might have +used any of the footprints for a hip-bath. + +"Having taken stock of the position, my next step was to make +arrangements for the fray. The three bulls, according to the natives, +had been spoored into the dense patch of bush above the kloof. Now it +seemed to me very probable that they would return to-night to feed on +the remainder of the ripening mealies. If so, there was a bright moon, +and it struck me that by the exercise of a little ingenuity I might bag +one or more of them without exposing myself to any risk, which, having +the highest respect for the aggressive powers of bull elephants, was a +great consideration to me. + +"This then was my plan. To the right of the huts as you look up the +kloof, and commanding the mealie lands, stands the baobab tree that I +have mentioned. Into that baobab tree I made up my mind to go. Then +if the elephants appeared I should get a shot at them. I announced my +intentions to the head man of the kraal, who was delighted. 'Now,' +he said, 'his people might sleep in peace, for while the mighty white +hunter sat aloft like a spirit watching over the welfare of his kraal +what was there to fear?' + +"I told him that he was an ungrateful brute to think of sleeping in +peace while, perched like a wounded vulture on a tree, I watched for his +welfare in wakeful sorrow; and once more he collapsed, and owned that my +words were 'sharp but just.' + +"However, as I have said, confidence was completely restored; and that +evening everybody in the kraal, including the superannuated victim of +jealousy in the little hut where the mealie cobs were stored, went to +bed with a sense of sweet security from elephants and all other animals +that prowl by night. + +"For my part, I pitched my camp below the kraal; and then, having +procured a beam of wood from the head man--rather a rotten one, by the +way--I set it across two boughs that ran out laterally from the baobab +tree, at a height of about twenty-five feet from the ground, in such +fashion that I and another man could sit upon it with our legs hanging +down, and rest our backs against the bole of the tree. This done I went +back to the camp and ate my supper. About nine o'clock, half-an-hour +before the moon-rise, I summoned Gobo, who, thinking that he had seen +about enough of the delights of big game hunting for that day, did not +altogether relish the job; and, despite his remonstrances, gave him my +eight-bore to carry, I having the .570-express. Then we set out for +the tree. It was very dark, but we found it without difficulty, though +climbing it was a more complicated matter. However, at last we got up +and sat down, like two little boys on a form that is too high for +them, and waited. I did not dare to smoke, because I remembered the +rhinoceros, and feared that the elephants might wind the tobacco if they +should come my way, and this made the business more wearisome, so I fell +to thinking and wondering at the completeness of the silence. + +"At last the moon came up, and with it a moaning wind, at the breath of +which the silence began to whisper mysteriously. Lonely enough in the +newborn light looked the wide expanse of mountain, plain, and forest, +more like some vision of a dream, some reflection from a fair world of +peace beyond our ken, than the mere face of garish earth made soft with +sleep. Indeed, had it not been for the fact that I was beginning to find +the log on which I sat very hard, I should have grown quite sentimental +over the beautiful sight; but I will defy anybody to become sentimental +when seated in the damp, on a very rough beam of wood, and half-way up +a tree. So I merely made a mental note that it was a particularly lovely +night, and turned my attention to the prospect of elephants. But no +elephants came, and after waiting for another hour or so, I think that +what between weariness and disgust, I must have dropped into a gentle +doze. Presently I awoke with a start. Gobo, who was perched close to me, +but as far off as the beam would allow--for neither white man nor black +like the aroma which each vows is the peculiar and disagreeable property +of the other--was faintly, very faintly clicking his forefinger against +his thumb. I knew by this signal, a very favourite one among native +hunters and gun-bearers, that he must have seen or heard something. I +looked at his face, and saw that he was staring excitedly towards the +dim edge of the bush beyond the deep green line of mealies. I stared +too, and listened. Presently I heard a soft large sound as though a +giant were gently stretching out his hands and pressing back the ears +of standing corn. Then came a pause, and then, out into the open +majestically stalked the largest elephant I ever saw or ever shall see. +Heavens! what a monster he was; and how the moonlight gleamed upon his +one splendid tusk--for the other was missing--as he stood among the +mealies gently moving his enormous ears to and fro, and testing the +wind with his trunk. While I was still marvelling at his girth, and +speculating upon the weight of that huge tusk, which I swore should be +my tusk before very long, out stepped a second bull and stood beside +him. He was not quite so tall, but he seemed to me to be almost +thicker-set than the first; and even in that light I could see that both +his tusks were perfect. Another pause, and the third emerged. He was +shorter than either of the others, but higher in the shoulder than No. +2; and when I tell you, as I afterwards learnt from actual measurement, +that the smallest of these mighty bulls measured twelve feet one and a +half inches at the shoulder, it will give you some idea of their size. +The three formed into line and stood still for a minute, the one-tusked +bull gently caressing the elephant on the left with his trunk. + +"Then they began to feed, walking forward and slightly to the right as +they gathered great bunches of the sweet mealies and thrust them into +their mouths. All this time they were more than a hundred and twenty +yards away from me (this I knew, because I had paced the distances from +the tree to various points), much too far to allow of my attempting +a shot at them in that uncertain light. They fed in a semicircle, +gradually drawing round towards the hut near my tree, in which the corn +was stored and the old woman slept. + +"This went on for between an hour and an hour and a half, till, what +between excitement and hope, that maketh the heart sick, I grew so +weary that I was actually contemplating a descent from the tree and a +moonlight stalk. Such an act in ground so open would have been that of a +stark staring lunatic, and that I should even have been contemplating it +will show you the condition of my mind. But everything comes to him who +knows how to wait, and sometimes too to him who doesn't, and so at last +those elephants, or rather one of them, came to me. + +"After they had fed their fill, which was a very large one, the noble +three stood once more in line some seventy yards to the left of the hut, +and on the edge of the cultivated lands, or in all about eighty-five +yards from where I was perched. Then at last the one with a single tusk +made a peculiar rattling noise in his trunk, just as though he were +blowing his nose, and without more ado began to walk deliberately toward +the hut where the old woman slept. I made my rifle ready and glanced up +at the moon, only to discover that a new complication was looming in the +immediate future. I have said that a wind rose with the moon. Well, the +wind brought rain-clouds along its track. Several light ones had already +lessened the light for a little while, though without obscuring it, and +now two more were coming up rapidly, both of them very black and dense. +The first cloud was small and long, and the one behind big and broad. I +remember noticing that the pair of them bore a most comical resemblance +to a dray drawn by a very long raw-boned horse. As luck would have it, +just as the elephant arrived within twenty-five yards or so of me, the +head of the horse-cloud floated over the face of the moon, rendering +it impossible for me to fire. In the faint twilight which remained, +however, I could just make out the gray mass of the great brute still +advancing towards the hut. Then the light went altogether and I had to +trust to my ears. I heard him fumbling with his trunk, apparently at the +roof of the hut; next came a sound as of straw being drawn out, and then +for a little while there was complete silence. + +"The cloud began to pass; I could see the outline of the elephant; he +was standing with his head quite over the top of the hut. But I could +not see his trunk, and no wonder, for it was _inside the hut_. He had +thrust it through the roof, and, attracted no doubt by the smell of the +mealies, was groping about with it inside. It was growing light now, and +I got my rifle ready, when suddenly there was a most awful yell, and +I saw the trunk reappear, and in its mighty fold the old woman who +had been sleeping in the hut. Out she came through the hole like a +periwinkle on the point of a pin, still wrapped up in her blanket, +and with her skinny arms and legs stretched to the four points of the +compass, and as she did so, gave that most alarming screech. I really +don't know who was the most frightened, she, or I, or the elephant. At +any rate the last was considerably startled; he had been fishing +for mealies--the old woman was a mere accident, and one that greatly +discomposed his nerves. He gave a sort of trumpet, and threw her away +from him right into the crown of a low mimosa tree, where she stuck +shrieking like a metropolitan engine. The old bull lifted his tail, and +flapping his great ears prepared for flight. I put up my eight-bore, and +aiming hastily at the point of his shoulder (for he was broadside on), I +fired. The report rang out like thunder, making a thousand echoes in +the quiet hills. I saw him go down all of a heap as though he were stone +dead. Then, alas! whether it was the kick of the heavy rifle, or the +excited bump of that idiot Gobo, or both together, or merely an unhappy +coincidence, I do not know, but the rotten beam broke and I went down +too, landing flat at the foot of the tree upon a certain humble portion +of the human frame. The shock was so severe that I felt as though all +my teeth were flying through the roof of my mouth, but although I sat +slightly stunned for a few seconds, luckily for me I fell light, and was +not in any way injured. + +"Meanwhile the elephant began to scream with fear and fury, and, +attracted by his cries, the other two charged up. I felt for my rifle; +it was not there. Then I remembered that I had rested it on a fork of +the bough in order to fire, and doubtless there it remained. My position +was now very unpleasant. I did not dare to try and climb the tree again, +which, shaken as I was, would have been a task of some difficulty, +because the elephants would certainly see me, and Gobo, who had clung to +a bough, was still aloft with the other rifle. I could not run because +there was no shelter near. Under these circumstances I did the only +thing feasible, clambered round the trunk as softly as possible, and +keeping one eye on the elephants, whispered to Gobo to bring down the +rifle, and awaited the development of the situation. I knew that if +the elephants did not see me--which, luckily, they were too enraged to +do--they would not smell me, for I was up-wind. Gobo, however, either +did not, or, preferring the safety of the tree, would not hear me. He +said the former, but I believed the latter, for I knew that he was not +enough of a sportsman to really enjoy shooting elephants by moonlight in +the open. So there I was behind my tree, dismayed, unarmed, but highly +interested, for I was witnessing a remarkable performance. + +"When the two other bulls arrived the wounded elephant on the ground +ceased to scream, but began to make a low moaning noise, and to gently +touch the wound near his shoulder, from which the blood was literally +spouting. The other two seemed to understand; at any rate, they did +this. Kneeling down on either side, they placed their trunks and tusks +underneath him, and, aided by his own efforts, with one great lift got +him on to his feet. Then leaning against him on either side to support +him, they marched off at a walk in the direction of the village.[*] It +was a pitiful sight, and even then it made me feel a brute. + + [*] The Editor would have been inclined to think that in + relating this incident Mr. Quatermain was making himself + interesting at the expense of the exact truth, did it not + happen that a similar incident has come within his + knowledge.--Editor. + +"Presently, from a walk, as the wounded elephant gathered himself +together a little, they broke into a trot, and after that I could follow +them no longer with my eyes, for the second black cloud came up over the +moon and put her out, as an extinguisher puts out a dip. I say with my +eyes, but my ears gave me a very fair notion of what was going on. When +the cloud came up the three terrified animals were heading directly for +the kraal, probably because the way was open and the path easy. I fancy +that they grew confused in the darkness, for when they came to the kraal +fence they did not turn aside, but crashed straight through it. Then +there were 'times,' as the Irish servant-girl says in the American book. +Having taken the fence, they thought that they might as well take the +kraal also, so they just ran over it. One hive-shaped hut was turned +quite over on to its top, and when I arrived upon the scene the people +who had been sleeping there were bumbling about inside like bees +disturbed at night, while two more were crushed flat, and a third had +all its side torn out. Oddly enough, however, nobody was hurt, though +several people had a narrow escape of being trodden to death. + +"On arrival I found the old head man in a state painfully like that +favoured by Greek art, dancing about in front of his ruined abodes as +vigorously as though he had just been stung by a scorpion. + +"I asked him what ailed him, and he burst out into a flood of abuse. +He called me a Wizard, a Sham, a Fraud, a Bringer of bad luck! I had +promised to kill the elephants, and I had so arranged things that the +elephants had nearly killed him, etc. + +"This, still smarting, or rather aching, as I was from that most +terrific bump, was too much for my feelings, so I just made a rush at +my friend, and getting him by the ear, I banged his head against the +doorway of his own hut, which was all that was left of it. + +"'You wicked old scoundrel,' I said, 'you dare to complain about your +own trifling inconveniences, when you gave me a rotten beam to sit on, +and thereby delivered me to the fury of the elephant' (_bump! bump! +bump!_), 'when your own wife' (_bump!_) 'has just been dragged out +of her hut' (_bump!_) 'like a snail from its shell, and thrown by the +Earth-shaker into a tree' (_bump! bump!_). + +"'Mercy, my father, mercy!' gasped the old fellow. 'Truly I have done +amiss--my heart tells me so.' + +"'I should hope it did, you old villain' (_bump!_). + +"'Mercy, great white man! I thought the log was sound. But what says the +unequalled chief--is the old woman, my wife, indeed dead? Ah, if she is +dead all may yet prove to have been for the very best;' and he clasped +his hands and looked up piously to heaven, in which the moon was once +more shining brightly. + +"I let go his ear and burst out laughing, the whole scene and his devout +aspirations for the decease of the partner of his joys, or rather woes, +were so intensely ridiculous. + +"'No, you old iniquity,' I answered; 'I left her in the top of a +thorn-tree, screaming like a thousand bluejays. The elephant put her +there.' + +"'Alas! alas!' he said, 'surely the back of the ox is shaped to the +burden. Doubtless, my father, she will come down when she is tired;' and +without troubling himself further about the matter, he began to blow at +the smouldering embers of the fire. + +"And, as a matter of fact, she did appear a few minutes later, +considerably scratched and startled, but none the worse. + +"After that I made my way to my little camp, which, fortunately, the +elephants had not walked over, and wrapping myself up in a blanket, was +soon fast asleep. + +"And so ended my first round with those three elephants." + + + + +IV--THE LAST ROUND + +"On the morrow I woke up full of painful recollections, and not without +a certain feeling of gratitude to the Powers above that I was there +to wake up. Yesterday had been a tempestuous day; indeed, what between +buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephant, it had been very tempestuous. Having +realized this fact, I next bethought me of those magnificent tusks, and +instantly, early as it was, broke the tenth commandment. I coveted my +neighbours tusks, if an elephant could be said to be my neighbour _de +jure_, as certainly, so recently as the previous night, he had been _de +facto_--a much closer neighbour than I cared for, indeed. Now when you +covet your neighbour's goods, the best thing, if not the most moral +thing, to do is to enter his house as a strong man armed, and take them. +I was not a strong man, but having recovered my eight-bore I was +armed, and so was the other strong man--the elephant with the tusks. +Consequently I prepared for a struggle to the death. In other words, I +summoned my faithful retainers, and told them that I was now going to +follow those elephants to the edge of the world, if necessary. They +showed a certain bashfulness about the business, but they did not +gainsay me, because they dared not. Ever since I had prepared with all +due solemnity to execute the rebellious Gobo they had conceived a great +respect for me. + +"So I went up to bid adieu to the old head man, whom I found alternately +contemplating the ruins of his kraal and, with the able assistance of +his last wife, thrashing the jealous lady who had slept in the mealie +hut, because she was, as he declared, the fount of all his sorrows. + +"Leaving them to work a way through their domestic differences, I levied +a supply of vegetable food from the kraal in consideration of services +rendered, and left them with my blessing. I do not know how they settled +matters, because I have not seen them since. + +"Then I started on the spoor of the three bulls. For a couple of miles +or so below the kraal--as far, indeed, as the belt of swamp that borders +the river--the ground is at this spot rather stony, and clothed with +scattered bushes. Rain had fallen towards the daybreak, and this fact, +together with the nature of the soil, made spooring a very difficult +business. The wounded bull had indeed bled freely, but the rain had +washed the blood off the leaves and grass, and the ground being so +rough and hard did not take the footmarks so clearly as was convenient. +However, we got along, though slowly, partly by the spoor, and partly +by carefully lifting leaves and blades of grass, and finding blood +underneath them, for the blood gushing from a wounded animal often falls +upon their inner surfaces, and then, of course, unless the rain is very +heavy, it is not washed away. It took us something over an hour and a +half to reach the edge of the marsh, but once there our task became +much easier, for the soft soil showed plentiful evidences of the great +brutes' passage. Threading our way through the swampy land, we came +at last to a ford of the river, and here we could see where the poor +wounded animal had lain down in the mud and water in the hope of easing +himself of his pain, and could see also how his two faithful companions +had assisted him to rise again. We crossed the ford, and took up the +spoor on the further side, and followed it into the marsh-like +land beyond. No rain had fallen on this side of the river, and the +blood-marks were consequently much more frequent. + +"All that day we followed the three bulls, now across open plains, and +now through patches of bush. They seemed to have travelled on almost +without stopping, and I noticed that as they went the wounded bull +recovered his strength a little. This I could see from his spoor, which +had become firmer, and also from the fact that the other two had ceased +to support him. At last evening closed in, and having travelled some +eighteen miles, we camped, thoroughly tired out. + +"Before dawn on the following day we were up, and the first break of +light found us once more on the spoor. About half-past five o'clock +we reached the place where the elephants had fed and slept. The +two unwounded bulls had taken their fill, as the condition of the +neighbouring bushes showed, but the wounded one had eaten nothing. He +had spent the night leaning against a good-sized tree, which his weight +had pushed out of the perpendicular. They had not long left this place, +and could not be very far ahead, especially as the wounded bull was now +again so stiff after his night's rest that for the first few miles the +other two had been obliged to support him. But elephants go very quick, +even when they seem to be travelling slowly, for shrub and creepers that +almost stop a man's progress are no hindrance to them. The three had +now turned to the left, and were travelling back again in a semicircular +line toward the mountains, probably with the idea of working round to +their old feeding grounds on the further side of the river. + +"There was nothing for it but to follow their lead, and accordingly +we followed with industry. Through all that long hot day did we tramp, +passing quantities of every sort of game, and even coming across the +spoor of other elephants. But, in spite of my men's entreaties, I would +not turn aside after these. I would have those mighty tusks or none. + +"By evening we were quite close to our game, probably within a quarter +of a mile, but the bush was dense, and we could see nothing of them, so +once more we must camp, thoroughly disgusted with our luck. That night, +just after the moon rose, while I was sitting smoking my pipe with my +back against a tree, I heard an elephant trumpet, as though something +had startled it, and not three hundred yards away. I was very tired, but +my curiosity overcame my weariness, so, without saying a word to any of +the men, all of whom were asleep, I took my eight-bore and a few spare +cartridges, and steered toward the sound. The game path which we had +been following all day ran straight on in the direction from which the +elephant had trumpeted. It was narrow, but well trodden, and the +light struck down upon it in a straight white line. I crept along it +cautiously for some two hundred yards, when it opened suddenly into a +most beautiful glade some hundred yards or more in width, wherein tall +grass grew and flat-topped trees stood singly. With the caution born of +long experience I watched for a few moments before I entered the glade, +and then I saw why the elephant had trumpeted. There in the middle of +the glade stood a large maned lion. He stood quite still, making a soft +purring noise, and waving his tail to and fro. Presently the grass about +forty yards on the hither side of him gave a wide ripple, and a lioness +sprang out of it like a flash, and bounded noiselessly up to the lion. +Reaching him, the great cat halted suddenly, and rubbed her head against +his shoulder. Then they both began to purr loudly, so loudly that I +believe that in the stillness one might have heard them two hundred +yards or more away. + +"After a time, while I was still hesitating what to do, either they got +a whiff of my wind, or they wearied of standing still, and determined +to start in search of game. At any rate, as though moved by a common +impulse, they bounded suddenly away, leap by leap, and vanished in the +depths of the forest to the left. I waited for a little while longer to +see if there were any more yellow skins about, and seeing none, came to +the conclusion that the lions must have frightened the elephants away, +and that I had taken my stroll for nothing. But just as I was turning +back I thought that I heard a bough break upon the further side of the +glade, and, rash as the act was, I followed the sound. I crossed the +glade as silently as my own shadow. On its further side the path went +on. Albeit with many fears, I went on too. The jungle growth was so +thick here that it almost met overhead, leaving so small a passage for +the light that I could scarcely see to grope my way along. Presently, +however, it widened, and then opened into a second glade slightly +smaller than the first, and there, on the further side of it, about +eighty yards from me, stood the three enormous elephants. + +"They stood thus:--Immediately opposite and facing me was the wounded +one-tusked bull. He was leaning his bulk against a dead thorn-tree, the +only one in the place, and looked very sick indeed. Near him stood the +second bull as though keeping a watch over him. The third elephant was +a good deal nearer to me and broadside on. While I was still staring at +them, this elephant suddenly walked off and vanished down a path in the +bush to the right. + +"There are now two things to be done--either I could go back to the camp +and advance upon the elephants at dawn, or I could attack them at once. +The first was, of course, by far the wiser and safer course. To engage +one elephant by moonlight and single-handed is a sufficiently rash +proceeding; to tackle three was little short of lunacy. But, on +the other hand, I knew that they would be on the march again before +daylight, and there might come another day of weary trudging before I +could catch them up, or they might escape me altogether. + +"'No,' I thought to myself, 'faint heart never won fair tusk. I'll risk +it, and have a slap at them. But how?' I could not advance across the +open, for they would see me; clearly the only thing to do was to creep +round in the shadow of the bush and try to come upon them so. So I +started. Seven or eight minutes of careful stalking brought me to the +mouth of the path down which the third elephant had walked. The other +two were now about fifty yards from me, and the nature of the wall of +bush was such that I could not see how to get nearer to them without +being discovered. I hesitated, and peeped down the path which the +elephant had followed. About five yards in, it took a turn round a +shrub. I thought that I would just have a look behind it, and advanced, +expecting that I should be able to catch a sight of the elephant's tail. +As it happened, however, I met his trunk coming round the corner. It is +very disconcerting to see an elephant's trunk when you expect to see his +tail, and for a moment I stood paralyzed almost under the vast brute's +head, for he was not five yards from me. He too halted, threw up his +trunk and trumpeted preparatory to a charge. I was in for it now, for +I could not escape either to the right or left, on account of the bush, +and I did not dare turn my back. So I did the only thing that I could +do--raised the rifle and fired at the black mass of his chest. It was +too dark for me to pick a shot; I could only brown him, as it were. + +"The shot rung out like thunder on the quiet air, and the elephant +answered it with a scream, then dropped his trunk and stood for a second +or two as still as though he had been cut in stone. I confess that I +lost my head; I ought to have fired my second barrel, but I did not. +Instead of doing so, I rapidly opened my rifle, pulled out the old +cartridge from the right barrel and replaced it. But before I could snap +the breech to, the bull was at me. I saw his great trunk fly up like a +brown beam, and I waited no longer. Turning, I fled for dear life, and +after me thundered the elephant. Right into the open glade I ran, and +then, thank Heaven, just as he was coming up with me the bullet took +effect on him. He had been shot right through the heart, or lungs, and +down he fell with a crash, stone dead. + +"But in escaping from Scylla I had run into the jaws of Charybdis. I +heard the elephant fall, and glanced round. Straight in front of me, +and not fifteen paces away, were the other two bulls. They were staring +about, and at that moment they caught sight of me. Then they came, the +pair of them--came like thunderbolts, and from different angles. I had +only time to snap my rifle to, lift it, and fire, almost at haphazard, +at the head of the nearest, the unwounded bull. + +"Now, as you know, in the case of the African elephant, whose skull is +convex, and not concave like that of the Indian, this is always a most +risky and very frequently a perfectly useless shot. The bullet loses +itself in the masses of bone, that is all. But there is one little vital +place, and should the bullet happen to strike there, it will follow +the channel of the nostrils--at least I suppose it is that of the +nostrils--and reach the brain. And this was what happened in the present +case--the ball struck the fatal spot in the region of the eye and +travelled to the brain. Down came the great bull all of a heap, and +rolled on to his side as dead as a stone. I swung round at that instant +to face the third, the monster bull with one tusk that I had wounded +two days before. He was already almost over me, and in the dim moonlight +seemed to tower above me like a house. I lifted the rifle and pulled +at his neck. It would not go off! Then, in a flash, as it were, I +remembered that it was on the half-cock. The lock of this barrel was a +little weak, and a few days before, in firing at a cow eland, the +left barrel had jarred off at the shock of the discharge of the right, +knocking me backwards with the recoil; so after that I had kept it on +the half-cock till I actually wanted to fire it. + +"I gave one desperate bound to the right, and, my lame leg +notwithstanding, I believe that few men could have made a better jump. +At any rate, it was none too soon, for as I jumped I felt the wind made +by the tremendous downward stroke of the monster's trunk. Then I ran for +it. + +"I ran like a buck, still keeping hold of my gun, however. My idea, +so far as I could be said to have any fixed idea, was to bolt down the +pathway up which I had come, like a rabbit down a burrow, trusting that +he would lose sight of me in the uncertain light. I sped across the +glade. Fortunately the bull, being wounded, could not go full speed; +but wounded or no, he could go quite as fast as I could. I was unable to +gain an inch, and away we went, with just about three feet between our +separate extremities. We were at the other side now, and a glance served +to show me that I had miscalculated and overshot the opening. To reach +it now was hopeless; I should have blundered straight into the elephant. +So I did the only thing I could do: I swerved like a course hare, and +started off round the edge of the glade, seeking for some opening into +which I could plunge. This gave me a moment's start, for the bull +could not turn as quickly as I could, and I made the most of it. But no +opening could I see; the bush was like a wall. We were speeding round +the edge of the glade, and the elephant was coming up again. Now he was +within about six feet, and now, as he trumpeted or rather screamed, +I could feel the fierce hot blast of his breath strike upon my head. +Heavens! how it frightened me! + +"We were three parts round the glade now, and about fifty yards ahead +was the single large dead thorn-tree against which the bull had been +leaning. I spurted for it; it was my last chance of safety. But spurt as +I would, it seemed hours before I got there. Putting out my right hand, +I swung round the tree, thus bringing myself face to face with the +elephant. I had not time to lift the rifle to fire, I had barely time to +cock it, and run sideways and backward, when he was on to me. Crash! he +came, striking the tree full with his forehead. It snapped like a carrot +about forty inches from the ground. Fortunately I was clear of the +trunk, but one of the dead branches struck me on the chest as it went +down and swept me to the ground. I fell upon my back, and the elephant +blundered past me as I lay. More by instinct than anything else I lifted +the rifle with one hand and pulled the trigger. It exploded, and, as I +discovered afterwards, the bullet struck him in the ribs. But the recoil +of the heavy rifle held thus was very severe; it bent my arm up, and +sent the butt with a thud against the top of my shoulder and the side of +my neck, for the moment quite paralyzing me, and causing the weapon to +jump from my grasp. Meanwhile the bull was rushing on. He travelled for +some twenty paces, and then suddenly he stopped. Faintly I reflected +that he was coming back to finish me, but even the prospect of imminent +and dreadful death could not rouse me into action. I was utterly spent; +I could not move. + +"Idly, almost indifferently, I watched his movements. For a moment +he stood still, next he trumpeted till the welkin rang, and then very +slowly, and with great dignity, he knelt down. At this point I swooned +away. + +"When I came to myself again I saw from the moon that I must have been +insensible for quite two hours. I was drenched with dew, and shivering +all over. At first I could not think where I was, when, on lifting +my head, I saw the outline of the one-tusked bull still kneeling some +five-and-twenty paces from me. Then I remembered. Slowly I raised +myself, and was instantly taken with a violent sickness, the result +of over-exertion, after which I very nearly fainted a second time. +Presently I grew better, and considered the position. Two of the +elephants were, as I knew, dead; but how about No. 3? There he knelt in +majesty in the lonely moonlight. The question was, was he resting, or +dead? I rose on my hands and knees, loaded my rifle, and painfully crept +a few paces nearer. I could see his eye now, for the moonlight fell full +upon it--it was open, and rather prominent. I crouched and watched; the +eyelid did not move, nor did the great brown body, or the trunk, or the +ear, or the tail--nothing moved. Then I knew that he must be dead. + +"I crept up to him, still keeping the rifle well forward, and gave him a +thump, reflecting as I did so how very near I had been to being thumped +instead of thumping. He never stirred; certainly he was dead, though to +this day I do not know if it was my random shot that killed him, or +if he died from concussion of the brain consequent upon the tremendous +shock of his contact with the tree. Anyhow, there he was. Cold and +beautiful he lay, or rather knelt, as the poet nearly puts it. Indeed, I +do not think that I have ever seen a sight more imposing in its way than +that of the mighty beast crouched in majestic death, and shone upon by +the lonely moon. + +"While I stood admiring the scene, and heartily congratulating myself +upon my escape, once more I began to feel sick. Accordingly, without +waiting to examine the other two bulls, I staggered back to the camp, +which in due course I reached in safety. Everybody in it was asleep. I +did not wake them, but having swallowed a mouthful of brandy I threw +off my coat and shoes, rolled myself up in a blanket, and was soon fast +asleep. + +"When I woke it was already light, and at first I thought that, like +Joseph, I had dreamed a dream. At that moment, however, I turned my +head, and quickly knew that it was no dream, for my neck and face were +so stiff from the blow of the butt-end of the rifle that it was agony +to move them. I collapsed for a minute or two. Gobo and another man, +wrapped up like a couple of monks in their blankets, thinking that I was +still asleep, were crouched over a little fire they had made, for the +morning was damp and chilly, and holding sweet converse. + +"Gobo said that he was getting tired of running after elephants which +they never caught. Macumazahn (that is, myself) was without doubt a man +of parts, and of some skill in shooting, but also he was a fool. None +but a fool would run so fast and far after elephants which it was +impossible to catch, when they kept cutting the spoor of fresh ones. +He certainly was a fool, but he must not be allowed to continue in +his folly; and he, Gobo, had determined to put a stop to it. He should +refuse to accompany him any further on so mad a hunt. + +"'Yes,' the other answered, 'the poor man certainly was sick in his +head, and it was quite time that they checked his folly while they still +had a patch of skin left upon their feet. Moreover, he for his part +certainly did not like this country of Wambe's, which really was full of +ghosts. Only the last night he had heard the spooks at work--they were +out shooting, at least it sounded as though they were. It was very +queer, but perhaps their lunatic of a master----' + +"'Gobo, you scoundrel!' I shouted out at this juncture, sitting bolt +upright on the blankets, 'stop idling there and make me some coffee.' + +"Up sprang Gobo and his friend, and in half a moment were respectfully +skipping about in a manner that contrasted well with the lordly contempt +of their previous conversation. But all the time they were in earnest in +what they said about hunting the elephants any further, for before I had +finished my coffee they came to me in a body, and said that if I wanted +to follow those elephants I must follow them myself, for they would not +go. + +"I argued with them, and affected to be much put out. The elephants were +close at hand, I said; I was sure of it; I had heard them trumpet in the +night. + +"'Yes,' answered the men mysteriously, 'they too had heard things in the +night, things not nice to hear; they had heard the spooks out shooting, +and no longer would they remain in a country so vilely haunted.' + +"'It was nonsense,' I replied. 'If ghosts went out shooting, surely +they would use air-guns and not black powder, and one would not hear +an air-gun. Well, if they were cowards, and would not come, of course +I could not force them to, but I would make a bargain with them. They +should follow those elephants for one half-hour more, then if we failed +to come upon them I would abandon the pursuit, and we would go straight +to Wambe, chief of the Matuku, and give him hongo.' + +"To this compromise the men agreed readily. Accordingly about +half-an-hour later we struck our camp and started, and notwithstanding +my aches and bruises, I do not think that I ever felt in better spirits +in my life. It is something to wake up in the morning and remember that +in the dead of the night, single-handed, one has given battle to and +overthrown three of the largest elephants in Africa, slaying them with +three bullets. Such a feat to my knowledge had never been done before, +and on that particular morning I felt a very 'tall man of my hands' +indeed. The only thing I feared was, that should I ever come to tell +the story nobody would believe it, for when a strange tale is told by +a hunter, people are apt to think it is necessarily a lie, instead of +being only probably so.[*] + + [*] For the satisfaction of any who may be so disbelieving + as to take this view of Mr. Quatermain's story, the Editor + may state that a gentleman with whom he is acquainted, and + whose veracity he believes to be beyond doubt, not long ago + described to him how he chanced to kill _four_ African + elephants with four consecutive bullets. Two of these + elephants were charging him simultaneously, and out of the + four three were killed with the head shot, a very uncommon + thing in the case of the African elephant.--Editor. + +"Well, we passed on till, having crossed the first glade where I had +seen the lions, we reached the neck of bush that separated it from the +second glade, where the dead elephants were. And here I began to take +elaborate precautions, amongst others ordering Gobo to keep some yards +ahead and look out sharp, as I thought that the elephants might be +about. He obeyed my instructions with a superior smile, and pushed +ahead. Presently I saw him pull up as though he had been shot, and begin +to snap his fingers faintly. + +"'What is it?' I whispered. + +"'The elephant, the great elephant with one tusk kneeling down.' + +"I crept up beside him. There knelt the bull as I had left him last +night, and there too lay the other bulls. + +"'Do these elephants sleep?' I whispered to the astonished Gobo. + +"'Yes, Macumazahn, they sleep.' + +"'Nay, Gobo, they are dead.' + +"'Dead? How can they be dead? Who killed them?' + +"'What do people call me, Gobo?' + +"'They call you Macumazahn.' + +"'And what does Macumazahn mean?' + +"'It means the man who keeps his eyes open, the man who gets up in the +night.' + +"'Yes, Gobo, and I am that man. Look, you idle, lazy cowards; while you +slept last night I rose, and alone I hunted those great elephants, and +slew them by the moonlight. To each of them I gave one bullet and only +one, and it fell dead. Look,' and I advanced into the glade, 'here is +my spoor, and here is the spoor of the great bull charging after me, and +there is the tree that I took refuge behind; see, the elephant shattered +it in his charge. Oh, you cowards, you who would give up the chase +while the blood spoor steamed beneath your nostrils, see what I did +single-handed while you slept, and be ashamed.' + +"'_Ou!_' said the men, '_ou!_ Koos! Koos y umcool!' (Chief, great +Chief!) And then they held their tongues, and going up to the three dead +beasts, gazed upon them in silence. + +"But after that those men looked upon me with awe as being almost +more than mortal. No mere man, they said, could have slain those three +elephants alone in the night-time. I never had any further trouble with +them. I believe that if I had told them to jump over a precipice and +that they would take no harm, they would have believed me. + +"Well, I went up and examined the bulls. Such tusks as they had I never +saw and never shall see again. It took us all day to cut them out; and +when they reached Delagoa Bay, as they did ultimately, though not in my +keeping, the single tusk of the big bull scaled one hundred and sixty +pounds, and the four other tusks averaged ninety-nine and a half +pounds--a most wonderful, indeed an almost unprecedented, lot of +ivory.[*] Unfortunately I was forced to saw the big tusk in two, +otherwise we could not have carried it." + + [*] The largest elephant tusk of which the Editor has any + certain knowledge scaled one hundred and fifty pounds. + +"Oh, Quatermain, you barbarian!" I broke in here, "the idea of spoiling +such a tusk! Why, I would have kept it whole if I had been obliged to +drag it myself." + +"Oh yes, young man," he answered, "it is all very well for you to talk +like that, but if you had found yourself in the position which it was +my privilege to occupy a few hours afterwards, it is my belief that you +would have thrown the tusks away altogether and taken to your heels." + +"Oh," said Good, "so that isn't the end of the yarn? A very good yarn, +Quatermain, by the way--I couldn't have made up a better one myself." + +The old gentleman looked at Good severely, for it irritated him to be +chaffed about his stories. + +"I don't know what you mean, Good. I don't see that there is any +comparison between a true story of adventure and the preposterous tales +which you invent about ibex hanging by their horns. No, it is not the +end of the story; the most exciting part is to come. But I have talked +enough for to-night; and if you go on in that way, Good, it will be some +time before I begin again." + +"Sorry I spoke, I'm sure," said Good, humbly. "Let's have a split to +show that there is no ill-feeling." And they did. + + + + +V--THE MESSAGE OF MAIWA + +On the following evening we once more dined together, and Quatermain, +after some pressure, was persuaded to continue his story--for Good's +remark still rankled in his breast. + +"At last," he went on, "a few minutes before sunset, the task was +finished. We had laboured at it all day, stopping only once for dinner, +for it is no easy matter to hew out five such tusks as those which +now lay before me in a white and gleaming line. It was a dinner worth +eating, too, I can tell you, for we dined off the heart of the great +one-tusked bull, which was so big that the man whom I sent inside the +elephant to look for his heart was forced to remove it in two pieces. +We cut it into slices and fried it with fat, and I never tasted heart +to equal it, for the meat seemed to melt in one's mouth. By the way, I +examined the jaw of the elephant; it never grew but one tusk; the other +had not been broken off, nor was it present in a rudimentary form. + +"Well, there lay the five beauties, or rather four of them, for Gobo and +another man were engaged in sawing the grand one in two. At last +with many sighs I ordered them to do this, but not until by practical +experiment I had proved that it was impossible to carry it in any other +way. One hundred and sixty pounds of solid ivory, or rather more in its +green state, is too great a weight for two men to bear for long across +a broken country. I sat watching the job and smoking the pipe of +contentment, when suddenly the bush opened, and a very handsome and +dignified native girl, apparently about twenty years of age, stood +before me, carrying a basket of green mealies upon her head. + +"Although I was rather surprised to see a native girl in such a wild +spot, and, so far as I knew, a long way from any kraal, the matter did +not attract my particular notice; I merely called to one of the men, and +told him to bargain with the woman for the mealies, and ask her if there +were any more to be bought in the neighbourhood. Then I turned my head +and continued to superintend the cutting of the tusk. Presently a shadow +fell upon me. I looked up, and saw that the girl was standing before me, +the basket of mealies still on her head. + +"'Marme, Marme,' she said, gently clapping her hands together. The +word Marme among these Matuku (though she was no Matuku) answers to +the Zulu 'Koos,' and the clapping of hands is a form of salutation very +common among the tribes of the Basutu race. + +"'What is it, girl?' I asked her in Sisutu. 'Are those mealies for +sale?' + +"'No, great white hunter,' she answered in Zulu, 'I bring them as a +gift.' + +"'Good,' I replied; 'set them down.' + +"'A gift for a gift, white man.' + +"'Ah,' I grumbled, 'the old story--nothing for nothing in this wicked +world. What do you want--beads?' + +"She nodded, and I was about to tell one of the men to go and fetch some +from one of the packs, when she checked me. + +"'A gift from the giver's own hand is twice a gift,' she said, and I +thought that she spoke meaningly. + +"'You mean that you want me to give them to you myself?' + +"'Surely.' + +"I rose to go with her. 'How is it that, being of the Matuku, you speak +in the Zulu tongue?' I asked suspiciously. + +"'I am not of the Matuku,' she answered as soon as we were out of +hearing of the men. 'I am of the people of Nala, whose tribe is the +Butiana tribe, and who lives there,' and she pointed over the mountain. +'Also I am one of the wives of Wambe,' and her eyes flashed as she said +the name. + +"'And how did you come here?' + +"'On my feet,' she answered laconically. + +"We reached the packs, and undoing one of them, I extracted a handful of +beads. 'Now,' I said, 'a gift for a gift. Hand over the mealies.' + +"She took the beads without even looking at them, which struck me as +curious, and setting the basket of mealies on the ground, emptied it. + +"At the bottom of the basket were some curiously-shaped green leaves, +rather like the leaves of the gutta-percha tree in shape, only somewhat +thicker and of a more fleshy substance. As though by hazard, the girl +picked one of these leaves out of the basket and smelt it. Then she +handed it to me. I took the leaf, and supposing that she wished me to +smell it also, was about to oblige her by doing so, when my eye fell +upon some curious red scratches on the green surface of the leaf. + +"'Ah,' said the girl (whose name, by the way, was Maiwa), speaking +beneath her breath, 'read the signs, white man.' + +"Without answering her I continued to stare at the leaf. It had been +scratched or rather written upon with a sharp tool, such as a nail, and +wherever this instrument had touched it, the acid juice oozing through +the outer skin had turned a rusty blood colour. Presently I found the +beginning of the scrawl, and read this in English, and covering the +surface of the leaf and of two others that were in the basket. + +"'I hear that a white man is hunting in the Matuku country. This is +to warn him to fly over the mountain to Nala. Wambe sends an impi at +daybreak to eat him up, because he has hunted before bringing hongo. For +God's sake, whoever you are, try to help me. I have been the slave of +this devil Wambe for nearly seven years, and am beaten and tortured +continually. He murdered all the rest of us, but kept me because I could +work iron. Maiwa, his wife, takes this; she is flying to Nala her father +because Wambe killed her child. Try to get Nala to attack Wambe; Maiwa +can guide them over the mountain. You won't come for nothing, for the +stockade of Wambe's private kraal is made of elephants' tusks. For +God's sake, don't desert me, or I shall kill myself. I can bear this no +longer. + +"'John Every.' + +"'Great heavens!' I gasped. 'Every!--why, it must be my old friend.' The +girl, or rather the woman Maiwa, pointed to the other side of the leaf, +where there was more writing. It ran thus--'I have just heard that the +white man is called Macumazahn. If so, it must be my friend Quatermain. +Pray Heaven it is, for I know he won't desert an old chum in such a fix +as I am. It isn't that I'm afraid of dying, I don't care if I die, but I +want to get a chance at Wambe first.' + +"'No, old boy,' thought I to myself, 'it isn't likely that I am going +to leave you there while there is a chance of getting you out. I have +played fox before now--there's still a double or two left in me. I must +make a plan, that's all. And then there's that stockade of tusks. I am +not going to leave that either.' Then I spoke to the woman. + +"'You are called Maiwa?' + +"'It is so.' + +"'You are the daughter of Nala and the wife of Wambe?' + +"'It is so.' + +"'You fly from Wambe to Nala?' + +"'I do.' + +"'Why do you fly? Stay, I would give an order,'--and calling to Gobo, I +ordered him to get the men ready for instant departure. The woman, who, +as I have said, was quite young and very handsome, put her hand into +a little pouch made of antelope hide which she wore fastened round the +waist, and to my horror drew from it the withered hand of a child, which +evidently had been carefully dried in the smoke. + +"'I fly for this cause,' she answered, holding the poor little hand +towards me. 'See now, I bore a child. Wambe was its father, and for +eighteen months the child lived and I loved it. But Wambe loves not his +children; he kills them all. He fears lest they should grow up to slay +one so wicked, and he would have killed this child also, but I begged +its life. One day, some soldiers passing the hut saw the child and +saluted him, calling him the "chief who soon shall be." Wambe heard, +and was mad. He smote the babe, and it wept. Then he said that it should +weep for good cause. Among the things that he had stolen from the white +men whom he slew is a trap that will hold lions. So strong is the trap +that four men must stand on it, two on either side, before it can be +opened.'" + + +Here old Quatermain broke off suddenly. + +"Look here, you fellows," he said, "I can't bear to go on with this part +of the story, because I never could stand either seeing or talking of +the sufferings of children. You can guess what that devil did, and what +the poor mother was forced to witness. Would you believe it, she told +me the tale without a tremor, in the most matter-of-fact way. Only I +noticed that her eyelid quivered all the time. + +"'Well,' I said, as unconcernedly as though I had been talking of the +death of a lamb, though inwardly I was sick with horror and boiling +with rage, 'and what do you mean to do about the matter, Maiwa, wife of +Wambe?' + +"'I mean to do this, white man,' she answered, drawing herself up to her +full height, and speaking in tones as hard as steel and cold as ice--'I +mean to work, and work, and work, to bring this to pass, and to bring +that to pass, until at length it comes to pass that with these living +eyes I behold Wambe dying the death that he gave to his child and my +child.' + +"'Well said,' I answered. + +"'Ay, well said, Macumazahn, well said, and not easily forgotten. Who +could forget, oh, who could forget? See where this dead hand rests +against my side; so once it rested when alive. And now, though it is +dead, now every night it creeps from its nest and strokes my hair and +clasps my fingers in its tiny palm. Every night it does this, fearing +lest I should forget. Oh, my child! my child! ten days ago I held thee +to my breast, and now this alone remains of thee,' and she kissed the +dead hand and shivered, but never a tear did she weep. + +"'See now,' she went on, 'the white man, the prisoner at Wambe's kraal, +he was kind to me. He loved the child that is dead, yes, he wept +when its father slew it, and at the risk of his life told Wambe, my +husband--ah, yes, my husband!--that which he is! He too it was who made +a plan. He said to me, "Go, Maiwa, after the custom of thy people, go +purify thyself in the bush alone, having touched a dead one. Say to +Wambe thou goest to purify thyself alone for fifteen days, according to +the custom of thy people. Then fly to thy father, Nala, and stir him up +to war against Wambe for the sake of the child that is dead." This then +he said, and his words seemed good to me, and that same night ere I left +to purify myself came news that a white man hunted in the country, and +Wambe, being mad with drink, grew very wrath, and gave orders that an +impi should be gathered to slay the white man and his people and seize +his goods. Then did the "Smiter of Iron" (Every) write the message on +the green leaves, and bid me seek thee out, and show forth the matter, +that thou mightest save thyself by flight; and behold, this thing have I +done, Macumazahn, the hunter, the Slayer of Elephants.' + +"'Ah,' I said, 'I thank you. And how many men be there in the impi of +Wambe?' + +"'A hundred of men and half a hundred.' + +"'And where is the impi?' + +"'There to the north. It follows on thy spoor. I saw it pass yesterday, +but myself I guessed that thou wouldst be nigher to the mountain, and +came this way, and found thee. To-morrow at the daybreak the slayers +will be here.' + +"'Very possibly,' I thought to myself; 'but they won't find Macumazahn. +I have half a mind to put some strychnine into the carcases of those +elephants for their especial benefit though.' I knew that they would +stop to eat the elephants, as indeed they did, to our great gain, but +I abandoned the idea of poisoning them, because I was rather short of +strychnine." + +"Or because you did not like to play the trick, Quatermain?" I suggested +with a laugh. + +"I said because I had not enough strychnine. It would take a great deal +of strychnine to poison three elephants effectually," answered the old +gentleman testily. + +I said nothing further, but I smiled, knowing that old Allan could never +have resorted to such an artifice, however severe his strait. But that +was his way; he always made himself out to be a most unmerciful person. + + +"Well," he went on, "at that moment Gobo came up and announced that we +were ready to march. 'I am glad that you are ready,' I said, 'because +if you don't march, and march quick, you will never march again, that is +all. Wambe has an impi out to kill us, and it will be here presently.' + +"Gobo turned positively green, and his knees knocked together. 'Ah, what +did I say?' he exclaimed. 'Fate walks about loose in Wambe's country.' + +"'Very good; now all you have to do is to walk a little quicker than +he does. No, no, you don't leave those elephant tusks behind--I am not +going to part with them I can tell you.' + +"Gobo said no more, but hastily directed the men to take up their loads, +and then asked which way we were to run. + +"'Ah,' I said to Maiwa, 'which way?' + +"'There,' she answered, pointing towards the great mountain spur +which towered up into the sky some forty miles away, separating the +territories of Nala and Wambe--'there, below that small peak, is one +place where men may pass, and one only. Also it can easily be blocked +from above. If men pass not there, then they must go round the great +peak of the mountain, two days' journey and half a day.' + +"'And how far is the peak from us?' + +"'All to-night shall you walk and all to-morrow, and if you walk fast, +at sunset you shall stand on the peak.' + +"I whistled, for that meant a five-and-forty miles trudge without sleep. +Then I called to the men to take each of them as much cooked elephant's +meat as he could carry conveniently. I did the same myself, and forced +the woman Maiwa to eat some as we went. This I did with difficulty, for +at that time she seemed neither to sleep nor eat nor rest, so fiercely +was she set on vengeance. + +"Then we started, Maiwa guiding us. After going for a half-hour over +gradually rising ground, we found ourselves on the further edge of a +great bush-clad depression something like the bottom of a lake. This +depression, through which we had been travelling, was covered with bush +to a very great extent, indeed almost altogether so, except where it was +pitted with glades such as that wherein I had shot the elephants. + +"At the top of this slope Maiwa halted, and putting her hand over her +eyes looked back. Presently she touched me on the arm and pointed across +the sea of forest towards a comparatively vacant space of country some +six or seven miles away. I looked, and suddenly I saw something flash in +the red rays of the setting sun. A pause, and then another quick flash. + +"'What is it?' I asked. + +"'It is the spears of Wambe's impi, and they travel fast,' she answered +coolly. + +"I suppose that my face showed how little I liked the news, for she went +on-- + +"'Fear not; they will stay to feast upon the elephants, and while they +feast we shall journey. We may yet escape.' + +"After that we turned and pushed on again, till at length it grew so +dark that we had to wait for the rising of the moon, which lost us +time, though it gave us rest. Fortunately none of the men had seen that +ominous flashing of the spears; if they had, I doubt if even I could +have kept control of them. As it was, they travelled faster than I had +ever known loaded natives to go before, so thorough-paced was their +desire to see the last of Wambe's country. I, however, took the +precaution to march last of all, fearing lest they should throw away +their loads to lighten themselves, or, worse still, the tusks; for these +kind of fellows would be capable of throwing anything away if their own +skins were at stake. If the pious neas, whose story you were reading +to me the other night, had been a mongrel Delagoa Bay native, Anchises +would have had a poor chance of getting out of Troy, that is, if he was +known to have made a satisfactory will. + +"At moonrise we set out again, and with short occasional halts travelled +till dawn, when we were forced to rest and eat. Starting once more, +about half-past five, we crossed the river at noon. Then began the long +toilsome ascent through thick bush, the same in which I shot the bull +buffalo, only some twenty miles to the west of that spot, and not more +than twenty-five miles on the hither side of Wambe's kraal. There were +six or seven miles of this dense bush, and hard work it was to get +through it. Next came a belt of scattered forest which was easier to +pass, though, in revenge, the ground was steeper. This was about two +miles wide, and we passed it by about four in the afternoon. Above this +scattered bush lay a long steep slope of boulder-strewn ground, which +ran up to the foot of the little peak some three miles away. As we +emerged, footsore and weary, on to this inhospitable plain, some of the +men looking round caught sight of the spears of Wambe's impi advancing +rapidly not more than a mile behind us. + +"At first there was a panic, and the bearers tried to throw off their +loads and run, but I harangued them, calling out to them that certainly +I would shoot the first man who did so and that if they would but trust +in me I would bring them through the mess. Now, ever since I had killed +those three elephants single-handed, I had gained great influence over +these men, and they listened to me. So off we went as hard as ever we +could go--the members of the Alpine Club would not have been in it with +us. We made the boulders burn, as a Frenchman would say. + +"When we had done about a mile the spears began to emerge from the belt +of scattered bush, and the whoop of their bearers as they viewed us +broke upon our ears. Quick as our pace had been before, it grew much +quicker now, for terror lent wings to my gallant crew. But they were +sorely tired, and the loads were heavy, so that run, or rather climb, as +we would, Wambe's soldiers, a scrubby-looking lot of men armed with +big spears and small shields, but without plumes, climbed considerably +faster. The last mile of that pleasing chase was like a fox hunt, +we being the fox, and always in view. What astonished me was the +extraordinary endurance and activity shown by Maiwa. She never even +flagged. I think that girl's muscles must have been made of iron, or +perhaps it was the strength of her will that supported her. At any rate +she reached the foot of the peak second, poor Gobo, who was an excellent +hand at running away, being first. + +"Presently I came up panting, and glanced at the ascent. Before us was a +wall of rock about one hundred and fifty feet in height, upon which +the strata were laid so as to form a series of projections sufficiently +resembling steps to make the ascent easy, comparatively speaking, except +at one spot, where it was necessary to climb over a projecting angle +of cliff and bear a little to the left. It was not a really difficult +place, but what made it awkward was, that immediately beneath this +projection gaped a deep fissure or donga, on the brink of which we now +stood, originally dug out, no doubt, by the rush of water from the +peak and cliff. This gulf beneath would be trying to the nerves of +a weak-headed climber at the critical point, and so it proved in the +result. The projecting angle once passed, the remainder of the ascent +was very simple. At the summit, however, the brow of the cliff hung over +and was pierced by a single narrow path cut through it by water, in such +fashion that a single boulder rolled into it at the top would make the +cliff quite impassable to men without ropes. + +"At this moment Wambe's soldiers were about a thousand yards from us, so +it was evident that we had no time to lose. I at once ordered the men +to commence the ascent, the girl Maiwa, who was familiar with the pass, +going first to show them the way. Accordingly they began to mount with +alacrity, pushing and lifting their loads in front of them. When the +first of them, led by Maiwa, reached the projecting angle, they put +down their loads upon a ledge of rock and clambered over. Once there, by +lying on their stomachs upon a boulder, they could reach the loads which +were held to them by the men beneath, and in this way drag them over the +awkward place, whence they were carried easily to the top. + +"But all of this took time, and meanwhile the soldiers were coming up +fast, screaming and brandishing their big spears. They were now within +about four hundred yards, and several loads, together with all the +tusks, had yet to be got over the rock. I was still standing at the +bottom of the cliff, shouting directions to the men above, but it +occurred to me that it would soon be time to move. Before doing so, +however, I thought that it might be well to try and produce a moral +effect upon the advancing enemy. In my hand I held a Winchester +repeating carbine, but the distance was too great for me to use it with +effect, so I turned to Gobo, who was shivering with terror at my side, +and handing him the carbine, took my express from him. + +"The enemy was now about three hundred and fifty yards away, and the +express was only sighted to three hundred. Still I knew that it could be +trusted for the extra fifty yards. Running in front of Wambe's soldiers +were two men--captains, I suppose--one of them very tall. I put up the +three hundred yard flap, and sitting down with my back against the rock, +I drew a long breath to steady myself, and covered the tall man, giving +him a full sight. Feeling that I was on him, I pulled, and before the +sound of the striking bullet could reach my ears, I saw the man throw up +his arms and pitch forward on to his head. His companion stopped dead, +giving me a fair chance. I rapidly covered him, and fired the left +barrel. He turned round once, and then sank down in a heap. This caused +the enemy to hesitate--they had never seen men killed at such a +distance before, and thought that there was something uncanny about the +performance. Taking advantage of the lull, I gave the express back to +Gobo, and slinging the Winchester repeater over my back I began to climb +the cliff. + +"When we reached the projecting angle all the loads were over, but +the tusks still had to be passed up, and owing to their weight and the +smoothness of their surface, this was a very difficult task. Of course +I ought to have abandoned the tusks; often and often have I since +reproached myself for not doing so. Indeed, I think that my obstinacy +about them was downright sinful, but I was always obstinate about such +things, and I could not bear the idea of leaving those splendid tusks +which had cost me so much pains and danger to come by. Well, it nearly +cost me my life also, and did cost poor Gobo his, as will be seen +shortly, to say nothing of the loss inflicted by my rifle on the enemy. +When I reached the projection I found that the men, with their usual +stupidity, were trying to hand up the tusks point first. Now the result +of this was that those above had nothing to grip except the round +polished surface of the ivory, and in the position in which they were, +this did not give them sufficient hold to enable them to lift the +weight. I told them to reverse the tusks and push them up, so that the +rough and hollow ends came to the hands of the men above. This they did, +and the first two were dragged up in safety. + +"At this point, looking behind me, I saw the Matukus streaming up the +slope in a rough extended order, and not more than a hundred yards away. +Cocking the Winchester I turned and opened fire on them. I don't quite +know how many I missed, but I do know that I never shot better in my +life. I had to keep shifting myself from one enemy to the other, firing +almost without getting a sight, that is, by the eye alone, after the +fashion of the experts who break glass balls. But quick as the work was, +men fell thick, and by the time that I had emptied the carbine of its +twelve cartridges, for the moment the advance was checked. I rapidly +pushed in some more cartridges, and hardly had I done so when the enemy, +seeing that we were about to escape them altogether, came on once more +with a tremendous yell. By this time the two halves of the single tusk +of the great bull alone remained to be passed up. I fired and fired as +effectively as before, but notwithstanding all that I could do, some men +escaped my hail of bullets and began to ascend the cliff. Presently +my rifle was again empty. I slung it over my back, and, drawing my +revolver, turned to run for it, the attackers being now quite close. As +I did so, a spear struck the cliff close to my head. + +"The last half of the tusk was now vanishing over the rock, and I sung +out to Gobo and the other man who had been pushing it up to vanish after +it. Gobo, poor fellow, required no second invitation; indeed, his haste +was his undoing. He went at the projecting rock with a bound. The end +of the tusk was still hanging over, and instead of grasping the rock he +caught at it. It twisted in his hand--he slipped--he fell; with one wild +shriek he vanished into the abyss beneath, his falling body brushing me +as it passed. For a moment we stood aghast, and presently the dull thud +of his fall smote heavily upon our ears. Poor fellow, he had met the +Fate which, as he declared, walked about loose in Wambe's country. Then +with an oath the remaining man sprung at the rock and clambered over it +in safety. Aghast at the awfulness of what had happened, I stood still, +till I saw the great blade of a Matuku spear pass up between my feet. +That brought me to my senses, and I began to clamber up the rock like +a cat. I was half way round it. Already I had clasped the hand of that +brave girl Maiwa, who came down to help me, the men having scrambled +forward with the ivory, when I felt some one seize my ankle. + +"'Pull, Maiwa, pull,' I gasped, and she certainly did pull. Maiwa was a +very muscular woman, and never before did I appreciate the advantages +of the physical development of females so keenly. She tugged at my left +arm, the savage below tugged at my right leg, till I began to realize +that something must give way ere long. Luckily I retained my presence +of mind, like the man who threw his mother-in-law out of the window, and +carried the mattress down-stairs, when a fire broke out in his house. +My right hand was still free, and in it I held my revolver, which was +secured to my wrist by a leather thong. The pistol was cocked, and I +simply pointed it downwards and fired. The result was instantaneous--and +so far as I am concerned, most satisfactory. The bullet hit the man +beneath me somewhere, I am sure I don't know where; at any rate, he let +go of my leg and plunged headlong into the gulf beneath to join Gobo. In +another moment I was on the top of the rock, and going up the remaining +steps like a lamplighter. A single other soldier appeared in pursuit, +but one of my boys at the top fired my elephant gun at him. I don't know +if he hit him or only frightened him; at any rate, he vanished whence he +came. I do know, however, that he very nearly hit _me_, for I felt the +wind of the bullet. + +"Another thirty seconds, and I and the woman Maiwa were at the top of +the cliff panting, but safe. + +"My men, being directed thereto by Maiwa, had most fortunately rolled +up some big boulders which lay about, and with these we soon managed to +block the passage through the overhanging ridge of rock in such fashion +that the soldiers below could not possibly climb over it. Indeed, so far +as I could see, they did not even try to do so--their heart was turned +to fat, as the Zulus say. + +"Then having rested a few moments we took up the loads, including the +tusks of ivory that had cost us so dear, and in silence marched on for +a couple of miles or more, till we reached a patch of dense bush. And +here, being utterly exhausted, we camped for the night, taking the +precaution, however, of setting a guard to watch against any attempt at +surprise." + + + + +VI--THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN + +"Notwithstanding all that we had gone through, perhaps indeed on account +of it, for I was thoroughly worn out, I slept that night as soundly as +poor Gobo, round whose crushed body the hynas would now be prowling. +Rising refreshed at dawn we went on our way towards Nala's kraal, which +we reached at nightfall. It is built on open ground after the Zulu +fashion, in a ring fence and with beehive huts. The cattle kraal is +behind and a little to the left. Indeed, both from their habits and +their talk it was easy to see that these Butiana belong to that section +of the Bantu people which, since T'Chaka's time, has been known as the +Zulu race. We did not see the chief Nala that night. His daughter Maiwa +went on to his private huts as soon as we arrived, and very shortly +afterwards one of his head men came to us bringing a sheep and some +mealies and milk with him. 'The chief sent us greeting,' he said, 'and +would see us on the morrow.' Meanwhile he was ordered to bring us to a +place of resting, where we and our goods should be safe and undisturbed. +Accordingly he led the way to some very good huts just outside Nala's +private enclosure, and here we slept comfortably. + +"On the morrow about eight o'clock the head man came again, and said +that Nala requested that I would visit him. I followed him into the +private enclosure and was introduced to the chief, a fine-looking man +of about fifty, with very delicately-shaped hands and feet, and a rather +nervous mouth. The chief was seated on a tanned ox-hide outside his hut. +By his side stood his daughter Maiwa, and squatted on their haunches +round him were some twenty head men or Indunas, whose number was +continually added to by fresh arrivals. These men saluted me as I +entered, and the chief rose and took my hand, ordering a stool to be +brought for me to sit on. When this was done, with much eloquence and +native courtesy he thanked me for protecting his daughter in the painful +and dangerous circumstances in which she found herself placed, and also +complimented me very highly upon what he was pleased to call the +bravery with which I had defended the pass in the rocks. I answered in +appropriate terms, saying that it was to Maiwa herself that thanks were +due, for had it not been for her warning and knowledge of the country we +should not have been here to-day; while as to the defence of the pass, I +was fighting for my life, and that put heart into me. + +"These courtesies concluded, Nala called upon his daughter Maiwa to tell +her tale to the head men, and this she did most simply and effectively. +She reminded them that she had gone as an unwilling bride to Wambe--that +no cattle had been paid for her, because Wambe had threatened war if she +was not sent as a free gift. Since she had entered the kraal of Wambe +her days had been days of heaviness and her nights nights of weeping. +She had been beaten, she had been neglected and made to do the work of a +low-born wife--she, a chief's daughter. She had borne a child, and this +was the story of the child. Then amidst a dead silence she told them the +awful tale which she had already narrated to me. When she had finished, +her hearers gave a loud ejaculation. '_Ou!_' they said, '_ou!_ Maiwa, +daughter of Nala!' + +"'Ay,' she went on with flashing eyes, 'ay, it is true; my mouth is as +full of truth as a flower of honey, and for tears my eyes are like the +dew upon the grass at dawn. It is true I saw the child die--here is the +proof of it, councillors,' and she drew forth the little dead hand and +held it before them. + +"'_Ou!_' they said again, '_ou!_ it is the dead hand!' + +"'Yes,' she continued, 'it is the dead hand of my dead child, and I bear +it with me that I may never forget, never for one short hour, that I +live that I may see Wambe die, and be avenged. Will you bear it, my +father, that your daughter and your daughter's child should be so +treated by a Matuku? Will ye bear it, men of my own people?' + +"'No,' said an old Induna, rising, 'it is not to be borne. Enough have +we suffered at the hands of these Matuku dogs and their loud-tongued +chief; let us put it to the issue.' + +"'It is not to be borne indeed,' said Nala; 'but how can we make head +against so great a people?' + +"'Ask of him--ask of Macumazahn, the wise white man,' said Maiwa, +pointing at me. + +"'How can we overcome Wambe, Macumazahn the hunter?' + +"'How does the jackal overreach the lion, Nala?' + +"'By cleverness, Macumazahn.' + +"'So shall you overcome Wambe, Nala.' + +"At this moment an interruption occurred. A man entered and said that +messengers had arrived from Wambe. + +"'What is their message?' asked Nala. + +"'They come to ask that thy daughter Maiwa be sent back, and with her +the white hunter.' + +"'How shall I make answer to this, Macumazahn?' said Nala, when the man +had withdrawn. + +"'Thus shalt thou answer,' I said after reflection; 'say that the woman +shall be sent and I with her, and then bid the messengers be gone. Stay, +I will hide myself here in the hut that the men may not see me,' and I +did. + +"Shortly afterwards, through a crack in the hut, I saw the messengers +arrive, and they were great truculent-looking fellows. There were four +of them, and evidently they had travelled night and day. They entered +with a swagger and squatted down before Nala. + +"'Your business?' said Nala, frowning. + +"'We come from Wambe, bearing the orders of Wambe to Nala his servant,' +answered the spokesman of the party. + +"'Speak,' said Nala, with a curious twitch of his nervous-looking mouth. + +"'These are the words of Wambe: "Send back the woman, my wife, who has +run away from my kraal, and send with her the white man who has dared to +hunt in my country without my leave, and to slay my soldiers." These are +the words of Wambe.' + +"'And if I say I will not send them?' asked Nala. + +"'Then on behalf of Wambe we declare war upon you. Wambe will eat you +up. He will wipe you out; your kraals shall be stamped flat--so,' and +with an expressive gesture he drew his hand across his mouth to show +how complete would be the annihilation of that chief who dared to defy +Wambe. + +"'These are heavy words,' said Nala. 'Let me take counsel before I +answer.' + +"Then followed a little piece of acting that was really very creditable +to the untutored savage mind. The heralds withdrew, but not out of +sight, and Nala went through the show of earnestly consulting his +Indunas. The girl Maiwa too flung herself at his feet, and appeared to +weep and implore his protection, while he wrung his hands as though in +doubt and tribulation of mind. At length he summoned the messengers to +draw near, and addressed them, while Maiwa sobbed very realistically at +his side. + +"'Wambe is a great chief,' said Nala, 'and this woman is his wife, whom +he has a right to claim. She must return to him, but her feet are sore +with walking, she cannot come now. In eight days from this day she shall +be delivered at the kraal of Wambe; I will send her with a party of my +men. As for the white hunter and his men, I have nought to do with them, +and cannot answer for their misdeeds. They have wandered hither unbidden +by me, and I will deliver them back whence they came, that Wambe may +judge them according to his law; they shall be sent with the girl. For +you, go your ways. Food shall be given you without the kraal, and a +present for Wambe in atonement of the ill-doing of my daughter. I have +spoken.' + +"At first the heralds seemed inclined to insist upon Maiwa's +accompanying them then and there, but on being shown the swollen +condition of her feet, ultimately they gave up the point and departed. + +"When they were well out of the way I emerged from the hut, and we went +on to discuss the situation and make our plans. First of all, as I was +careful to explain to Nala, I was not going to give him my experience +and services for nothing. I heard that Wambe had a stockade round +his kraal made of elephant tusks. These tusks, in the event of our +succeeding in the enterprise, I should claim as my perquisite, with the +proviso that Nala should furnish me with men to carry them down to the +coast. + +"To this modest request Nala and the head men gave an unqualified and +hearty assent, the more hearty perhaps because they never expected to +get the ivory. + +"The next thing I stipulated was, that if we conquered, the white man +John Every should be handed over to me, together with any goods which he +might claim. His cruel captivity was, I need hardly say, the only reason +that induced me to join in so hair-brained an expedition, but I was +careful from motives of policy to keep this fact in the background. +Nala accepted this condition. My third stipulation was that no women +or children should be killed. This being also agreed to, we went on to +consider ways and means. Wambe, it appeared, was a very powerful petty +chief, that is, he could put at least six thousand fighting men into the +field, and always had from three to four thousand collected about his +kraal, which was supposed to be impregnable. Nala, on the contrary, at +such short notice could not collect more than from twelve to thirteen +hundred men, though, being of the Zulu stock, they were of much better +stuff for fighting purposes than Wambe's Matukus. + +"These odds, though large, under the circumstances were not +overwhelming. The real obstacle to our chance of success was the +difficulty of delivering a crushing assault against Wambe's strong +place. This was, it appeared, fortified all round with schanses or stone +walls, and contained numerous caves and koppies in the hill-side and at +the foot of the mountain which no force had ever been able to capture. +It is said that in the time of the Zulu monarch Dingaan, a great impi of +that king's having penetrated to this district, had delivered an assault +upon the kraal then owned by a forefather of Wambe's, and been beaten +back with the loss of more than a thousand men. + +"Having thought the question over, I interrogated Maiwa closely as to +the fortifications and the topographical peculiarities of the spot, and +not without results. I discovered that the kraal was indeed impregnable +to a front attack, but that it was very slightly defended to the rear, +which ran up a slope of the mountain, indeed only by two lines of stone +walls. The reason of this was that the mountain is quite impassable +except by one secret path supposed to be known only to the chief and his +councillors, and this being so, it had not been considered necessary to +fortify it. + +"'Well,' I said, when she had done, 'and now as to this secret path of +thine--knowest thou aught of it?' + +"'Ay,' she answered, 'I am no fool, Macumazahn. Knowledge learned is +power earned. I won the secret of that path.' + +"'And canst thou guide an impi thereon so that it shall fall upon the +town from behind?' + +"'Yes, I can do this, if only Wambe's people know not that the impi +comes, for if they know, then they can block the way.' + +"'So then here is my plan. Listen, Nala, and say if it be good, or if +thou hast a better, show it forth. Let messengers go out and summon all +thy impi, that it be gathered here on the third day from now. This being +done, let the impi, led by Maiwa, march on the morrow of the fourth day, +and crossing the mountains let it travel along on the other side of the +mountains till it come to the place on the further side of which is the +kraal of Wambe; that shall be some three days' journey in all.[*] Then +on the night of the third day's journey, let Maiwa lead the impi +in silence up the secret path, so that it comes to the crest of the +mountain that is above the strong place, and here let it hide among the +rocks. + + [*] About one hundred and twenty miles.--Editor. + +"'Meanwhile on the sixth day from now let one of thy Indunas, Nala, +bring with him two hundred men that have guns, and lead me and my men +as prisoners, and take also a girl from among the Butiana people, who +by form and face is like unto Maiwa, and bind her hands, and pass by +the road on which we came and through the cutting in the cliff on to the +kraal of Wambe. But the men shall take no shields or plumes with them, +only their guns and one short spear, and when they meet the people of +Wambe they shall say that they come to give up the woman and the white +man and his party to Wambe, and to make atonement to Wambe. So shall +they pass in peace. And travelling thus, on the evening of the seventh +day we shall come to the gates of the place of Wambe, and nigh the gates +there is, so says Maiwa, a koppie very strong and full of rocks and +caves, but having no soldiers on it except in time of war, or at the +worst but a few such as can easily be overpowered. + +"'This being done, at the dawn of day the impi on the mountain behind +the town must light a fire and put wet grass on it, so that the smoke +goes up. Then at the sight of the smoke we in the koppie will begin to +shoot into the town of Wambe, and all the soldiers will run to kill us. +But we will hold our own, and while we fight the impi shall charge down +the mountain side and climb the schanses, and put those who defend them +to the assegai, and then falling upon the town shall surprise it, and +drive the soldiers of Wambe as a wind blows the dead husks of corn. This +is my plan. I have spoken.' + +"'_Ou!_' said Nala, 'it is good, it is very good. The white man is +cleverer than a jackal. Yes, so shall it be; and may the snake of the +Butiana people stand up upon its tail and prosper the war, for so shall +we be rid of Wambe and the tyrannies of Wambe.' + +"After that the girl Maiwa stood up, and once more producing the +dreadful little dried hand, made her father and several of his head +councillors swear by it and upon it that they would carry out the war of +vengeance to the bitter end. It was a very curious sight to see. And by +the way, the fight that ensued was thereafter known among the tribes of +that district as the War of the Little Hand. + +"The next two days were busy ones for us. Messengers were sent out, +and every available man of the Butiana tribe was ordered up to 'a great +dance.' The country was small, and by the evening of the second day, +some twelve hundred and fifty men were assembled with their assegais and +shields, and a fine hardy troop they were. At dawn of the following day, +the fourth from the departure of the heralds, the main impi, having +been doctored in the usual fashion, started under the command of Nala +himself, who, knowing that his life and chieftainship hung upon the +issue of the struggle, wisely determined to be present to direct it. +With them went Maiwa, who was to guide them up the secret path. Of +course we were obliged to give them two days' start, as they had more +than a hundred miles of rough country to pass, including the crossing of +the great mountain range which ran north and south, for it was necessary +that the impi should make a wide dtour in order to escape detection. + +"At length, however, at dawn on the sixth day, I took the road, +accompanied by my most unwilling bearers, who did not at all like the +idea of thus putting their heads into the lion's mouth. Indeed, it was +only the fear of Nala's spears, together with a vague confidence in +myself, that induced them to accept the adventure. With me also were +about two hundred Butianas, all armed with guns of various kinds, for +many of these people had guns, though they were not very proficient in +the use of them. But they carried no shields and wore no head-dress or +armlets; indeed, every warlike appearance was carefully avoided. With +our party went also a sister of Maiwa's, though by a different mother, +who strongly resembled her in face and form, and whose mission it was to +impersonate the runaway wife. + +"That evening we camped upon the top of the cliff up which we had so +barely escaped, and next morning at the first breaking of the light we +rolled away the stones with which we had blocked the passage some days +before, and descended to the hill-side beneath. Here the bodies, or +rather the skeletons of the men who had fallen before my rifle, still +lay about. The Matuku soldiers had left their comrades to be buried by +the vultures. I descended the gully into which poor Gobo had fallen, and +searched for his body, but in vain, although I found the spot where he +and the other man had struck, together with the bones of the latter, +which I recognized by the waist-cloth. Either some beast of prey had +carried Gobo off, or the Matuku people had disposed of his remains, and +also of my express rifle which he carried. At any rate, I never saw or +heard any more of him. + +"Once in Wambe's country, we adopted a very circumspect method of +proceeding. About fifty men marched ahead in loose order to guard +against surprise, while as many more followed behind. The remaining +hundred were gathered in a bunch between, and in the centre of these men +I marched, together with the girl who was personating Maiwa, and all my +bearers. We were disarmed, and some of my men were tied together to show +that we were prisoners, while the girl had a blanket thrown over her +head, and moved along with an air of great dejection. We headed straight +for Wambe's place, which was at a distance of about twenty-five miles +from the mountain-pass. + +"When we had gone some five miles we met a party of about fifty of +Wambe's soldiers, who were evidently on the look-out for us. They +stopped us, and their captain asked where we were going. The head man +of our party answered that he was conveying Maiwa, Wambe's runaway wife, +together with the white hunter and his men, to be given up to Wambe in +accordance with his command. The captain then wanted to know why we +were so many, to which our spokesman replied that I and my men were very +desperate fellows, and that it was feared that if we were sent with a +smaller escort we should escape, and bring disgrace and the wrath of +Wambe upon their tribe. Thereon this gentleman, the Matuku captain, +began to amuse himself at my expense, and mock me, saying that Wambe +would make me pay for the soldiers whom I had killed. He would put me +into the 'Thing that bites,' in other words, the lion trap, and leave me +there to die like a jackal caught by the leg. I made no answer to this, +though my wrath was great, but pretended to look frightened. Indeed +there was not much pretence about it, I was frightened. I could not +conceal from myself that ours was a most hazardous enterprise, and that +it was very possible that I might make acquaintance with that lion trap +before I was many days older. However, it seemed quite impossible to +desert poor Every in his misfortune, so I had to go on, and trust to +Providence, as I have so often been obliged to do before and since. + +"And now a fresh difficulty arose. Wambe's soldiers insisted upon +accompanying us, and what is more, did all they could to urge us +forward, as they were naturally anxious to get to the chief's place +before evening. But we, on the other hand, had excellent reasons for not +arriving till night was closing in, since we relied upon the gloom to +cover our advance upon the koppie which commanded the town. Finally, +they became so importunate that we were obliged to refuse flatly to +move faster, alleging as a reason that the girl was tired. They did +not accept this excuse in good part, and at one time I thought that we +should have come to blows, for there is no love lost between Butianas +and Matukus. At last, however, either from motives of policy, or because +they were so evidently outnumbered, they gave in and suffered us to +go our own pace. I earnestly wished that they would have added to the +obligation by going theirs, but this they declined absolutely to do. On +the contrary, they accompanied us every foot of the way, keeping up a +running fire of allusions to the 'Thing that bites' that jarred upon my +nerves and discomposed my temper. + +"About half-past four in the afternoon we came to a neck or ridge of +stony ground, whence we could see Wambe's town plainly lying some six or +seven miles away, and three thousand feet beneath us. The town is built +in a valley, with the exception of Wambe's own kraal, that is situated +at the mouth of some caves upon the slope of the opposing mountains, +over which I hoped to see our impi's spears flashing in the morrow's +light. Even from where we stood, it was easy to see how strongly the +place was fortified with schanses and stone walls, and how difficult +of approach. Indeed, unless taken by surprise, it seemed to me quite +impregnable to a force operating without cannon, and even cannon would +not make much impression on rocks and stony koppies filled with caves. + +"Then came the descent of the pass, and an arduous business it was, for +the path--if it may be called a path--is almost entirely composed of +huge water-worn boulders, from the one to the other of which we must +jump like so many grasshoppers. It took us two hours to climb down, +and, travelling through that burning sun, when at last we did reach the +bottom, I for one was nearly played out. Shortly afterwards, just as +it was growing dark, we came to the first line of fortifications, which +consisted of a triple stone wall pierced by a gateway, so narrow that +a man could hardly squeeze through it. We passed this without question, +being accompanied by Wambe's soldiers. Then, came a belt of land three +hundred paces or more in width, very rocky and broken, and having no +huts upon it. Here in hollows in this belt the cattle were kraaled in +case of danger. On the further side were more fortifications and another +small gateway shaped like a V, and just beyond and through it I saw the +koppie we had planned to seize looming up against the line of mountains +behind. + +"As we went I whispered my suggestions to our captain, with the result +that at the second gateway he halted the cavalcade, and addressing +the captain of Wambe's soldiers, said that we would wait here till we +received Wambe's word to enter the town. The other man said that this +was well, only he must hand over the prisoners to be taken up to the +chief's kraal, for Wambe, was 'hungry to begin upon them,' and his +'heart desired to see the white man at rest before he closed his eyes in +sleep,' and as for his wife, 'surely he would welcome her.' Our leader +replied that he could not do this thing, because his orders were to +deliver the prisoners to Wambe at Wambe's own kraal, and they might not +be broken. How could he be responsible for the safety of the prisoners +if he let them out of his hand? No, they would wait there till Wambe's +word was brought. + +"To this, after some demur, the other man consented, and went away, +remarking that he would soon be back. As he passed me he called out +with a sneer, pointing as he did so to the fading red in the western +sky--'Look your last upon the light, White Man, for the "Thing that +bites" lives in the dark.' + +"Next day it so happened that I shot this man, and, do you know, I think +that he is about the only human being who has come to harm at my hands +for whom I do not feel sincere sorrow and, in a degree, remorse." + + + + +VII--THE ATTACK + +"Just where we halted ran a little stream of water. I looked at it, and +an idea struck me: probably there would be no water on the koppie. I +suggested this to our captain, and, acting on the hint, he directed all +the men to drink what they could, and also to fill the seven or eight +cooking pots which we carried with us with water. Then came the crucial +moment. How were we to get possession of the koppie? When the captain +asked me, I said that I thought that we had better march up and take +it, and this accordingly we went on to do. When we came to the narrow +gateway we were, as I expected stopped by two soldiers who stood on +guard there and asked our business. The captain answered that we had +changed our minds, and would follow on to Wambe's kraal. The soldiers +said no, we must now wait. + +"To this we replied by pushing them to one side and marching in single +file through the gateway, which was not distant more than a hundred +yards from the koppie. While we were getting through, the men we had +pushed away ran towards the town calling for assistance, a call that was +promptly responded to, for in another minute we saw scores of armed men +running hard in our direction. So we ran too, for the koppie. As soon as +they understood what we were after, which they did not at first, owing +to the dimness of the light, they did their best to get there before us. +But we had the start of them, and with the exception of one unfortunate +man who stumbled and fell, we were well on to the koppie before +they arrived. This man they captured, and when fighting began on the +following morning, and he refused to give any information, they killed +him. Luckily they had no time to torture him, or they would certainly +have done so, for these Matuku people are very fond of torturing their +enemies. + +"When we reached the koppie, the base of which covers about half an acre +of ground, the soldiers who had been trying to cut us off halted, for +they knew the strength of the position. This gave us a few minutes +before the light had quite vanished to reconnoitre the place. We found +that it was unoccupied, fortified with a regular labyrinth of stone +walls, and contained three large caves and some smaller ones. The next +business was to post the soldiers to such advantage as time would allow. +My own men I was careful to place quite at the top. They were perfectly +useless from terror, and I feared that they might try to escape and give +information of our plans to Wambe. So I watched them like the apple of +my eye, telling them that should they dare to stir they would be shot. + +"Then it grew quite dark, and presently out of the darkness I heard +a voice--it was that of the leader of the soldiers who had escorted +us--calling us to come down. We replied that it was too dark to move, we +should hit our feet against the stones. He insisted upon our descending, +and we flatly refused, saying that if any attempt was made to dislodge +us we would fire. After that, as they had no real intention of attacking +us in the dark, the men withdrew, but we saw from the fires which were +lit around that they were keeping a strict watch upon our position. + +"That night was a wearing one, for we never quite knew how the situation +was going to develop. Fortunately we had some cooked food with us, so +we did not starve. It was lucky, however, that we drunk our fill before +coming up, for, as I had anticipated, there was not a drop of water on +the koppie. + +"At length the night wore away, and with the first tinge of light I +began to go my rounds, and stumbling along the stony paths, to make +things as ready as I could for the attack, which I felt sure would be +delivered before we were two hours older. The men were cramped and cold, +and consequently low-spirited, but I exhorted them to the best of my +ability, bidding them remember the race from which they sprang, and not +to show the white feather before a crowd of Matuku dogs. At length it +began to grow light, and presently I saw long columns of men advancing +towards the koppie. They halted under cover at a distance of about +a hundred and fifty yards, and just as the dawn broke a herald came +forward and called to us. Our captain stood up upon a rock and answered +him. + +"'These are the words of Wambe,' the herald said. 'Come forth from the +koppie, and give over the evil-doers, and go in peace, or stay in the +koppie and be slain.' + +"'It is too early to come out as yet,' answered our man in fine +diplomatic style. 'When the sun sucks up the mist then we will come out. +Our limbs are stiff with cold.' + +"'Come forth even now,' said the herald. + +"'Not if I know it, my boy,' said I to myself; but the captain replied +that he would come out when he thought proper, and not before. + +"'Then make ready to die,' said the herald, for all the world like the +villain of a transpontine piece, and majestically stalked back to the +soldiers. + +"I made my final arrangements, and looked anxiously at the mountain +crest a couple of miles or so away, from which the mist was now +beginning to lift, but no column of smoke could I see. I whistled, +for if the attacking force had been delayed or made any mistake, our +position was likely to grow rather warm. We had barely enough water to +wet the mouths of the men, and when once it was finished we could not +hold the place for long in that burning heat. + +"At length, just as the sun rose in glory over the heights behind us, +the Matuku soldiers, of whom about fifteen hundred were now assembled, +set up a queer whistling noise, which ended in a chant. Then some shots +were fired, for the Matuku had a few guns, but without effect, though +one bullet passed just by a man's head. + +"'Now they are going to begin,' I thought to myself, and I was not +far wrong, for in another minute the body of men divided into three +companies, each about five hundred strong, and, heralded by a running +fire, charged at us on three sides. Our men were now all well under +cover, and the fire did us no harm. I mounted on a rock so as to command +a view of as much of the koppie and plain as possible, and yelled to our +men to reserve their fire till I gave the word, and then to shoot low +and load as quickly as possible. I knew that, like all natives, they +were sure to be execrable shots, and that they were armed with weapons +made out of old gas-pipes, so the only chance of doing execution was to +let the enemy get right on to us. + +"On they came with a rush; they were within eighty yards now, and as +they drew near the point of attack, I observed that they closed their +ranks, which was so much the better for us. + +"'Shall we not fire, my father?' sung out the captain. + +"'No, confound you!' I answered. + +"'Sixty yards--fifty--forty--thirty. Fire, you scoundrels!' I yelled, +setting the example by letting off both barrels of my elephant gun into +the thickest part of the company opposite to me. + +"Instantly the place rang out with the discharge of two hundred and odd +guns, while the air was torn by the passage of every sort of missile, +from iron pot legs down to slugs and pebbles coated with lead. The +result was very prompt. The Matukus were so near that we could not miss +them, and at thirty yards a lead-coated stone out of a gas-pipe is as +effective as a Martini rifle, or more so. Over rolled the attacking +soldiers by the dozen, while the survivors, fairly frightened, took to +their heels. We plied them with shot till they were out of range--I made +it very warm for them with the elephant gun, by the way--and then we +loaded up in quite a cheerful frame of mind, for we had not lost a man, +whereas I could count more than fifty dead and wounded Matukus. The only +thing that damped my ardour was that, stare as I would, I could see no +column of smoke upon the mountain crest. + +"Half an hour elapsed before any further steps were taken against us. +Then the attacking force adopted different tactics. Seeing that it +was very risky to try to rush us in dense masses, they opened out into +skirmishing order and ran across the open space in lots of five and six. +As it happened, right at the foot of the koppie the ground broke away a +little in such fashion that it was almost impossible for us to search +it effectually with our fire. On the hither side of this dip Wambe's +soldiers were now congregating in considerable numbers. Of course we did +them as much damage as we could while they were running across, but this +sort of work requires good shots, and that was just what we had not got. +Another thing was, that so many of our men would insist upon letting off +the things they called guns at every little knot of the enemy that ran +across. Thus, the first few lots were indeed practically swept away, but +after that, as it took a long while to load the gas-pipes and old flint +muskets, those who followed got across in comparative safety. For my own +part, I fired away with the elephant gun and repeating carbine till they +grew almost too hot to hold, but my individual efforts could do nothing +to stop such a rush, or perceptibly to lessen the number of our enemies. + +"At length there were at least a thousand men crowded into the dip of +ground within a few yards of us, whence those of them who had guns kept +up a continued fusillade upon the koppie. They killed two of my bearers +in this way, and wounded a third, for being at the top of the koppie +these men were most exposed to the fire from the dip at its base. Seeing +that the situation was growing most serious, at length, by the dint of +threats and entreaties, I persuaded the majority of our people to cease +firing useless shots, to reload, and prepare for the rush. Scarcely had +I done so when the enemy came for us with a roar. I am bound to say that +I should never have believed that Matukus had it in them to make such +a determined charge. A large party rushed round the base of the koppie, +and attacked us in flank, while the others swarmed wherever they could +get a foothold, so that we were taken on every side. + +"'_Fire!_' I cried, and we did with terrible effect. Many of their men +fell, but though we checked we could not stop them. They closed up and +rushed the first fortification, killing a good number of its defenders. +It was almost all cold steel work now, for we had no time to reload, and +that suited the Butiana habits of fighting well enough, for the stabbing +assegai is a weapon which they understand. Those of our people who +escaped from the first line of walls took refuge in the second, where +I stood myself, encouraging them, and there the fight raged fiercely. +Occasionally parties of the enemy would force a passage, only to perish +on the hither side beneath the Butiana spears. But still they kept +it up, and I saw that, fight as we would, we were doomed. We were +altogether outnumbered, and to make matters worse, fresh bodies +of soldiers were pouring across the plain to the assistance of our +assailants. So I made up my mind to direct a retreat into the caves, +and there expire in a manner as heroic as circumstances would allow; and +while mentally lamenting my hard fate and reflecting on my sins I fought +away like a fiend. It was then, I remember, that I shot my friend the +captain of our escort of the previous day. He had caught sight of +me, and making a vicious dig at my stomach with a spear (which I +successfully dodged), shouted out, or rather began to shout out, one of +his unpleasant allusions to the 'Thing that----' He never got as far as +'bites,' because I shot him after 'that.' + +"Well, the game was about up. Already I saw one man throw down his spear +in token of surrender--which act of cowardice cost him his life, by the +way--when suddenly a shout arose. + +"'Look at the mountain,' they cried; 'there is an impi on the mountain +side.' + +"I glanced up, and there sure enough, about half-way down the mountain, +nearing the first fortification, the long-plumed double line of Nala's +warriors was rushing down to battle, the bright light of the morning +glancing on their spears. Afterwards we discovered that the reason of +their delay was that they had been stopped by a river in flood, and +could not reach the mountain crest by dawn. When they did reach it, +however, they saw instantly that the fight was already going on, was +'in flower,' as they put it, and so advanced at once without waiting to +light signal-fires. + +"Meanwhile they had been observed from the town, and parties of soldiers +were charging up the steep side of the hill, to occupy the schanses, and +the second line of fortifications behind them. The first line they did +not now attempt to reach or defend; Nala pressed them too close. +But they got to the schanses or pits protected with stone walls, and +constructed to hold from a dozen to twenty men, and soon began to open +fire from them, and from isolated rocks. I turned my eyes to the gates +of the town, which were placed to the north and south. Already they were +crowded with hundreds of fugitive women and children flying to the rocks +and caves for shelter from the foe. + +"As for ourselves, the appearance of Nala's impi produced a wonderful +change for the better in our position. The soldiers attacking us turned, +realizing that the town was being assailed from the rear, and clambering +down the koppie streamed off to protect their homes against this new +enemy. In five minutes there was not a man left except those who would +move no more, or were too sorely wounded to escape. I felt inclined to +ejaculate '_Saved!_' like the gentleman in the play, but did not because +the occasion was too serious. What I did do was to muster all the men +and reckon up our losses. They amounted to fifty-one killed and wounded, +sixteen men having been killed outright. Then I sent men with the +cooking-pots to the stream of water, and we drank. This done I set my +bearers, being the most useless part of the community, from a fighting +point of view, to the task of attending the injured, and turned to watch +the fray. + +"By this time Nala's impi had climbed the first line of fortifications +without opposition, and was advancing in a long line upon the schanses +or pits which were scattered about between it and the second line, +singing a war chant as it came. Presently puffs of smoke began to start +from the schanses, and with my glasses I could see several of our men +falling over. Then as they came opposite a schanse that portion of the +long line of warriors would thicken up and charge it with a wild rush. I +could see them leap on to the walls and vanish into the depths beneath, +some of their number falling backward on each occasion, shot or stabbed +to death. + +"Next would come another act in the tragedy. Out from the hither side of +the schanse would pour such of its defenders as were left alive, perhaps +three or four and perhaps a dozen, running for dear life, with the war +dogs on their tracks. One by one they would be caught, then up flashed +the great spear and down fell the pursued--dead. I saw ten of our men +leap into one large schanse, but though I watched for some time nobody +came out. Afterwards we inspected the place and found these men all +dead, together with twenty-three Matukus. Neither side would give in, +and they had fought it out to the bitter end. + +"At last they neared the second line of fortifications, behind which +the whole remaining Matuku force, numbering some two thousand men, was +rapidly assembling. One little pause to get their breath, and Nala's men +came at it with a rush and a long wild shout of '_Bulala Matuku_' (kill +the Matuku) that went right through me, thrilling every nerve. Then came +an answering shout, and the sounds of heavy firing, and presently I saw +our men retreating, somewhat fewer in numbers than they had advanced. +Their welcome had been a warm one for the Matuku fight splendidly behind +walls. This decided me that it was necessary to create a diversion; if +we did not do so it seemed very probable that we should be worsted after +all. I called to the captain of our little force, and rapidly put the +position before him. + +"Seeing the urgency of the occasion, he agreed with me that we must risk +it, and in two minutes more, with the exception of my own men, whom I +left to guard the wounded, we were trotting across the open space and +through the deserted town towards the spot where the struggle was taking +place, some seven hundred yards away. In six or eight minutes we reached +a group of huts--it was a head man's kraal, that was situated about a +hundred and twenty yards behind the fortified wall, and took possession +of it unobserved. The enemy was too much engaged with the foe in front +of him to notice us, and besides, the broken ground rose in a hog-back +shape between. There we waited a minute or two and recovered our breath, +while I gave my directions. So soon as we heard the Butiana impi begin +to charge again, we were to run out in a line to the brow of the hogback +and pour our fire into the mass of defenders behind the wall. Then the +guns were to be thrown down and we must charge with the assegai. We +had no shields, but that could not be helped; there would be no time to +reload the guns, and it was absolutely necessary that the enemy should +be disconcerted at the moment when the main attack was delivered. + +"The men, who were as plucky a set of fellows as ever I saw, and whose +blood was now thoroughly up, consented to this scheme, though I could +see that they thought it rather a large order, as indeed I did myself. +But I knew that if the impi was driven back a second time the game would +be played, and for me at any rate it would be a case of the 'Thing +that bites,' and this sure and certain knowledge filled my breast with +valour. + +"We had not long to wait. Presently we heard the Butiana war-song +swelling loud and long; they had commenced their attack. I made a sign, +and the hundred and fifty men, headed by myself, poured out of the +kraal, and getting into a rough line ran up the fifty or sixty yards of +slope that intervened between ourselves and the crest of the hog-backed +ridge. In thirty seconds we were there, and immediately beyond us was +the main body of the Matuku host waiting the onslaught of the enemy with +guns and spears. Even now they did not see us, so intent were they upon +the coming attack. I signed to my men to take careful aim, and suddenly +called out to them to fire, which they did with a will, dropping thirty +or forty Matukus. + +"'_Charge!_' I shouted, again throwing down my smoking rifle and drawing +my revolver, an example which they followed, snatching up their spears +from the ground where they had placed them while they fired. The men +set up a savage whoop, and we started. I saw the Matuku soldiers wheel +around in hundreds, utterly taken aback at this new development of the +situation. And looking over them, before we had gone twenty yards I +saw something else. For of a sudden, as though they had risen from the +earth, there appeared above the wall hundreds of great spears, followed +by hundreds of savage faces shadowed with drooping plumes. With a yell +they sprang upon the wall shaking their broad shields, and with a yell +they bounded from it straight into our astonished foes. + +"_Crash!_ we were in them now, and fighting like demons. _Crash!_ from +the other side. Nala's impi was at its work, and still the spears +and plumes appeared for a moment against the brown background of the +mountain, and then sprang down and rushed like a storm upon the foe. +The great mob of men turned this way and turned that way, astonished, +bewildered, overborne by doubt and terror. + +"Meanwhile the slayers stayed not their hands, and on every side spears +flashed, and the fierce shout of triumph went up to heaven. There too on +the wall stood Maiwa, a white garment streaming from her shoulders, an +assegai in her hand, her breast heaving, her eyes flashing. Above all +the din of battle I could catch the tones of her clear voice as she +urged the soldiers on to victory. But victory was not yet. Wambe's +soldiers gathered themselves together, and bore our men back by the +sheer weight of numbers. They began to give, then once more they +rallied, and the fight hung doubtfully. + +"'Slay, you war-whelps,' cried Maiwa from the wall. 'Are you afraid, +you women, you chicken-hearted women! Strike home, or die like dogs! +What--you give way! Follow me, children of Nala.' And with one long cry +she leapt from the wall as leaps a stricken antelope, and holding the +spear poised rushed right into the thickest of the fray. The warriors +saw her, and raised such a shout that it echoed like thunder against the +mountains. They massed together, and following the flutter of her white +robe crashed into the dense heart of the foe. Down went the Matuku +before them like trees before a whirlwind. Nothing could stand in the +face of such a rush as that. It was as the rush of a torrent bursting +its banks. All along their line swept the wild desperate charge; and +there, straight in the forefront of the battle, still waved the white +robe of Maiwa. + +"Then they broke, and, stricken with utter panic, Wambe's soldiers +streamed away a scattered crowd of fugitives, while after them thundered +the footfall of the victors. + +"The fight was over, we had won the day; and for my part I sat down upon +a stone and wiped my forehead, thanking Providence that I had lived to +see the end of it. Twenty minutes later Nala's warriors began to return +panting. 'Wambe's soldiers had taken to the bush and the caves,' they +said, 'where they had not thought it safe to follow them,' adding +significantly, that many had stopped on the way. + +"I was utterly dazed, and now that the fight was over my energy seemed +to have left me, and I did not pay much attention, till presently I was +aroused by somebody calling me by my name. I looked up, and saw that it +was the chief Nala himself, who was bleeding from a flesh wound in his +arm. By his side stood Maiwa panting, but unhurt, and wearing on her +face a proud and terrifying air. + +"'They are gone, Macumazahn,' said the chief; 'there is little to fear +from them, their heart is broken. But where is Wambe the chief?--and +where is the white man thou camest to save?' + +"'I know not,' I answered. + +"Close to where we stood lay a Matuku, a young man who had been shot +through the fleshy part of the calf. It was a trifling wound, but it +prevented him from running away. + +"'Say, thou dog,' said Nala, stalking up to him and shaking his red +spear in his face, 'say, where is Wambe? Speak, or I slay thee. Was he +with the soldiers?' + +"'Nay, lord, I know not,' groaned the terrified man, 'he fought not +with us; Wambe has no stomach for fighting. Perchance he is in his kraal +yonder, or in the cave behind the kraal,' and he pointed to a small +enclosure on the hillside, about four hundred yards to the right of +where we were. + +"'Let us go and see,' said Nala, summoning his soldiers." + + + + +VIII--MAIWA IS AVENGED + +"The impi formed up; alas, an hour before it had been stronger by a +third than it was now. Then Nala detached two hundred men to collect +and attend to the injured, and at my suggestion issued a stringent order +that none of the enemy's wounded, and above all no women or children, +were to be killed, as is the savage custom among African natives. On the +contrary, they were to be allowed to send word to their women that they +might come in to nurse them and fear nothing, for Nala made war upon +Wambe the tyrant, and not on the Matuku tribe. + +"Then we started with some four hundred men for the chief's kraal. Very +soon we were there. It was, as I have said, placed against the mountain +side, but within the fortified lines, and did not at all cover more +than an acre and a half of ground. Outside was a tiny reed fence, within +which, neatly arranged in a semi-circular line, stood the huts of the +chief's principal wives. Maiwa of course knew every inch of the kraal, +for she had lived in it, and led us straight to the entrance. We peeped +through the gateway--not a soul was to be seen. There were the huts and +there was the clear open space floored with a concrete of lime, on which +the sun beat fiercely, but nobody could we see or hear. + +"'The jackal has gone to earth,' said Maiwa; 'he will be in the cave +behind his hut,' and she pointed with her spear towards another small +and semi-circular enclosure, over which a large hut was visible, that +had the cliff itself for a background. I stared at this fence; by +George! it was true, it was entirely made of tusks of ivory planted in +the ground with their points bending outwards. The smallest ones, though +none were small, were placed nearest to the cliff on either side, but +they gradually increased in size till they culminated in two enormous +tusks, which, set up so that their points met, something in the shape of +an inverted V, formed the gateway to the hut. I was dumbfoundered with +delight; and indeed, where is the elephant-hunter who would not be, if +he suddenly saw five or six hundred picked tusks set up in a row, and +only waiting for him to take them away? Of course the stuff was what is +known as 'black' ivory; that is, the exterior of the tusks had become +black from years or perhaps centuries of exposure to wind and weather, +but I was certain that it would be none the worse for that. Forgetting +the danger of the deed, in my excitement I actually ran right across +the open space, and drawing my knife scratched vigorously at one of the +great tusks to see how deep the damage might be. As I thought, it was +nothing; there beneath the black covering gleamed the pure white ivory. +I could have capered for joy, for I fear that I am very mercenary at +heart, when suddenly I heard the faint echo of a cry for assistance. +'Help!' screamed a voice in the Sisutu dialect from somewhere behind the +hut; 'help! they are murdering me.' + +"_I knew the voice_; it was John Every's. Oh, what a selfish brute was +I! For the moment that miserable ivory had driven the recollection of +him out of my head, and now--perhaps it was too late. + +"Nala, Maiwa, and the soldiers had now come up. They too heard the voice +and interpreted its tone, though they had not caught the words. + +"'This way,' cried Maiwa, and we started at a run, passing round the hut +of Wambe. Behind was the narrow entrance to a cave. We rushed through +it heedless of the danger of the ambush, and this is what we saw, though +very confusedly at first, owing to the gloom. + +"In the centre of the cave, and with either end secured to the floor by +strong stakes, stood a huge double-springed lion trap edged with sharp +and grinning teeth. It was set, and beyond the trap, indeed almost over +it, a terrible struggle was in progress. A naked or almost naked white +man, with a great beard hanging down over his breast, in spite of his +furious struggles, was being slowly forced and dragged towards the trap +by six or eight women. Only one man was present, a fat, cruel-looking +man with small eyes and a hanging lip. It was the chief Wambe, and he +stood by the trap ready to force the victim down upon it so soon as the +women had dragged him into the necessary position. + +"At this instant they caught sight of us, and there came a moment's +pause, and then, before I knew what she was going to do, Maiwa lifted +the assegai she still held, and whirled it at Wambe's head. I saw the +flash of light speed towards him, and so did he, for he stepped backward +to avoid it--stepped backward right into the trap. He yelled with pain +as the iron teeth of the 'Thing that bites' sprang up with a rattling +sound like living fangs and fastened into him--such a yell I have not +often heard. Now at last he tasted of the torture which he had inflicted +upon so many, and though I trust I am a Christian, I cannot say that I +felt sorry for him. + +"The assegai sped on and struck one of the women who had hold of the +unfortunate Every, piercing through her arm. This made her leave go, an +example that the other women quickly followed, so that Every fell to the +ground, where he lay gasping. + +"'Kill the witches,' roared Nala, in a voice of thunder, pointing to the +group of women. + +"'Nay,' gasped Every, 'spare them. He made them do it,' and he pointed +to the human fiend in the trap. Then Maiwa waved her hand to us to +fall back, for the moment of her vengeance was come. We did so, and she +strode up to her lord, and flinging the white robe from her stood before +him, her fierce beautiful face fixed like stone. + +"'Who am I?' she cried in so terrible a voice that he ceased his yells. +'Am I that woman who was given to thee for wife, and whose child thou +slewest? Or am I an avenging spirit come to see thee die? + +"'What is this?' she went on, drawing the withered baby-hand from the +pouch at her side. + +"'Is it the hand of a babe? and how came that hand to be thus alone? +What cut it off from the babe? and where is the babe? Is it a hand? or +is it the vision of a hand that shall presently tear thy throat? + +"'Where are thy soldiers, Wambe? Do they sleep and eat and go forth to +do thy bidding? or are they perchance dead and scattered like the winter +leaves?' + +"He groaned and rolled his eyes while the fierce-faced woman went on. + +"'Art thou still a chief, Wambe? or does another take thy place and +power, and say, Lord, what doest thou there? and what is that slave's +leglet upon thy knee? + +"'Is it a dream, Wambe, great lord and chief? or'--and she lifted her +clenched hands and shook them in his face--'hath a woman's vengeance +found thee out and a woman's wit o'ermatched thy tyrannous strength? and +art thou about to slowly die in torments horrible to think on, oh, thou +accursed murderer of little children?' + +"And with one wild scream she dashed the dead hand of the child straight +into his face, and then fell senseless on the floor. As for the demon +in the trap, he shrank back so far as its iron bounds would allow, his +yellow eyes starting out of his head with pain and terror, and then once +more began to yell. + +"The scene was more than I could bear. + +"'Nala,' I said, 'this must stop. That man is a fiend, but he must not +be left to die there. See thou to it.' + +"'Nay," answered Nala, 'let him taste of the food wherewith he hath fed +so many; leave him till death shall find him.' + +"'That I will not,' I answered. 'Let his end be swift; see thou to it.' + +"'As thou wilt, Macumazahn,' answered the chief, with a shrug of the +shoulders; 'first let the white man and Maiwa be brought forth.' + +"So the soldiers came forward and carried Every and the woman into the +open air. As the former was borne past his tormentor, the fallen chief, +so cowardly was his wicked heart, actually prayed him to intercede +for him, and save him from a fate which, but for our providential +appearance, would have been Every's own. + +"So we went away, and in another moment one of the biggest villains on +the earth troubled it no more. Once in the fresh air Every recovered +quickly. I looked at him, and horror and sorrow pierced me through to +see such a sight. His face was the face of a man of sixty, though he +was not yet forty, and his poor body was cut to pieces with stripes and +scars, and other marks of the torments which Wambe had for years amused +himself with inflicting on him. + +"As soon as he recovered himself a little he struggled on to his +knees, burst into a paroxysm of weeping, and clasping my legs with his +emaciated arms, would have actually kissed my feet. + +"'What are you about, old fellow?' I said, for I am not accustomed to +that sort of thing, and it made me feel uncomfortable. + +"'Oh, God bless you?' he moaned, 'God bless you! If only you knew what +I have gone through; and to think that you should have come to help +me, and at the risk of your own life! Well, you were always a true +friend--yes, yes, a true friend.' + +"'Bosh,' I answered testily; 'I'm a trader, and I came after that +ivory,' and I pointed to the stockade of tusks. 'Did you ever hear of +an elephant-hunter who would not have risked his immortal soul for them, +and much more his carcase?' + +"But he took no notice of my explanations, and went on God blessing me +as hard as ever, till at last I bethought me that a nip of brandy, of +which I had a flask full, might steady his nerves a bit. I gave it him, +and was not disappointed in the result, for he brisked up wonderfully. +Then I hunted about in Wambe's hut, and found a kaross to put over his +poor bruised shoulders, and he was quite a man again. + +"'Now,' I said, 'why did the late lamented Wambe want to put you in that +trap?' + +"'Because as soon as they heard that the fight was going against them, +and that Maiwa was charging at the head of Nala's impi, one of the women +told Wambe that she had seen me write something on some leaves and give +them to Maiwa before she went away to purify herself. Then of course +he guessed that I had to do with your seizing the koppie and holding it +while the impi rushed the place from the mountain, so he determined to +torture me to death before help could come. Oh, heavens! what a mercy it +is to hear English again.' + +"'How long have you been a prisoner here, Every?' I asked. + +"'Six years and a bit, Quatermain; I have lost count of the odd months +lately. I came up here with Major Aldey and three other gentlemen and +forty bearers. That devil Wambe ambushed us, and murdered the lot to +get their guns. They weren't much use to him when he got them, being +breech-loaders, for the fools fired away all the ammunition in a month +or two. However, they are all in good order, and hanging up in the hut +there. They didn't kill me because one of them saw me mending a gun just +before they attacked us, so they kept me as a kind of armourer. Twice +I tried to make a bolt of it, but was caught each time. Last time Wambe +had me flogged very nearly to death--you can see the scars upon my back. +Indeed I should have died if it hadn't been for the girl Maiwa, who +nursed me by stealth. He got that accursed lion trap among our things +also, and I suppose he has tortured between one and two hundred people +to death in it. It was his favourite amusement, and he would go every +day and sit and watch his victim till he died. Sometimes he would give +him food and water to keep him alive longer, telling him or her that he +would let him go if he lived till a certain day. But he never did let +them go. They all died there, and I could show you their bones behind +that rock.' + +"'The devil!' I said, grinding my teeth. 'I wish I hadn't interfered; I +wish I had left him to the same fate.' + +"'Well, he got a taste of it any way,' said Every; 'I'm glad he got +a taste. There's justice in it, and now he's gone to hell, and I hope +there is another one ready for him there. By Jove! I should like to have +the setting of it.' + +"And so he talked on, and I sat and listened to him, wondering how he +had kept his reason for so many years. But he didn't talk as I have told +it, in plain English. He spoke very slowly, and as though he had got +something in his mouth, continually using native words because the +English ones had slipped his memory. + +"At last Nala came up and told us that food was made ready, and thankful +enough we were to get it, I can tell you. After we had eaten we held +a consultation. Quite a thousand of Wambe's soldiers were put _hors +de combat_, but at least two thousand remained hidden in the bush and +rocks, and these men, together with those in the outlying kraals, were a +source of possible danger. The question arose, therefore, what was to +be done--were they to be followed or left alone? I waited till everybody +had spoken, some giving one opinion and some another, and then being +appealed to I gave mine. It was to the effect that Nala should take a +leaf out of the great Zulu T'Chaka's book, and incorporate the tribe, +not destroy it. We had a good many women among the prisoners. Let them, +I suggested, be sent to the hiding-places of the soldiers and make +an offer. If the men would come and lay down their arms and declare +allegiance to Nala, they and their town and cattle should be spared. +Wambe's cattle alone would be seized as the prize of war. Moreover, +Wambe having left no children, his wife Maiwa should be declared +chieftainess of the tribe, under Nala. If they did not accept this offer +by the morning of the second day it should be taken as a declaration +that they wished to continue the war. Their town should be burned, their +cattle, which our men were already collecting and driving in in great +numbers, would be taken, and they should be hunted down. + +"This advice was at once declared to be wise, and acted on. The women +were despatched, and I saw from their faces that they never expected to +get such terms, and did not think that their mission would be in vain. +Nevertheless, we spent that afternoon in preparations against possible +surprise, and also in collecting all the wounded of both parties into a +hospital, which we extemporized out of some huts, and there attending to +them as best we could. + +"That evening Every had the first pipe of tobacco that he had tasted +for six years. Poor fellow, he nearly cried with joy over it. The night +passed without any sign of attack, and on the following morning we began +to see the effect of our message, for women, children, and a few men +came in in little knots, and took possession of their huts. It was of +course rather difficult to prevent our men from looting, and generally +going on as natives, and for the matter of that white men too, are in +the habit of doing after a victory. But one man who after warning was +caught maltreating a woman was brought out and killed by Nala's order, +and though there was a little grumbling, that put a stop to further +trouble. + +"On the second morning the head men and numbers of their followers came +in in groups, and about midday a deputation of the former presented +themselves before us without their weapons. They were conquered, they +said, and Wambe was dead, so they came to hear the words of the great +lion who had eaten them up, and of the crafty white man, the jackal, who +had dug a hole for them to fall in, and of Maiwa, Lady of War, who had +led the charge and turned the fate of the battle. + +"So we let them hear the words, and when we had done an old man rose and +said, that in the name of the people he accepted the yoke that was laid +upon their shoulders, and that the more gladly because even the rule of +a woman could not be worse than the rule of Wambe. Moreover, they knew +Maiwa, the Lady of War, and feared her not, though she was a witch and +terrible to see in battle. + +"Then Nala asked his daughter if she was willing to become chieftainess +of the tribe under him. + +"Maiwa, who had been very silent since her revenge was accomplished, +answered yes, that she was, and that her rule should be good and gentle +to those who were good and gentle to her, but the froward and rebellious +she would smite with a rod of iron; which from my knowledge of her +character I thought exceedingly probable. + +"The head man replied that that was a good saying, and they did not +complain at it, and so the meeting ended. + +"Next day we spent in preparations for departure. Mine consisted chiefly +in superintending the digging up of the stockade of ivory tusks, which I +did with the greatest satisfaction. There were some five hundred of them +altogether. I made inquiries about it from Every, who told me that the +stockade had been there so long that nobody seemed to know exactly +who had collected the tusks originally. There was, however, a kind of +superstitious feeling about them which had always prevented the chiefs +from trying to sell this great mass of ivory. Every and I examined it +carefully, and found that although it was so old its quality was really +as good as ever, and there was very little soft ivory in the lot. At +first I was rather afraid lest, now that my services had been rendered, +Nala should hesitate to part with so much valuable property, but this +was not the case. When I spoke to him on the subject he merely said, +'Take it, Macumazahn, take it; you have earned it well,' and, to speak +the truth, though I say it who shouldn't, I think I had. So we pressed +several hundred Matuku bearers into our service, and next day marched +off with the lot. + +"Before we went I took a formal farewell of Maiwa, whom we left with a +bodyguard of three hundred men to assist her in settling the country. +She gave me her hand to kiss in a queenly sort of way, and then said, + +"'Macumazahn, you are a brave man, and have been a friend to me in my +need. If ever you want help or shelter, remember that Maiwa has a good +memory for friend and foe. All I have is yours. + +"And so I thanked her and went. She was certainly a very remarkable +woman. A year or two ago I heard that her father Nala was dead, and that +she had succeeded to the chieftainship of both tribes, which she ruled +with great justice and firmness. + +"I can assure you that we ascended the pass leading to Wambe's town with +feelings very different from those with which we had descended it a +few days before. But if I was grateful for the issue of events, you can +easily imagine what poor Every's feelings were. When we got to the top +of the pass, before the whole impi he actually flopped down upon his +knees and thanked Heaven for his escape, the tears running down his +face. But then, as I have said, his nerves were shaken--though now that +his beard was trimmed and he had some sort of clothes on his back, and +hope in his heart, he looked a very different man from the poor wretch +whom we had rescued from death by torture. + +"Well, we separated from Nala at the little stairway or pass over the +mountain--Every and I and the ivory going down the river which I had +come up a few weeks before, and the chief returning to his own kraal on +the further side of the mountain. He gave us an escort of a hundred +and fifty men, however, with instructions to accompany us for six days' +journey, and to keep the Matuku bearers in order and then return. I knew +that in six days we should be able to reach a district where porters +were plentiful, and whence we could easily get the ivory conveyed to +Delagoa Bay." + +"And did you land it up safe?" I asked. + +"Well no," said Quatermain, "we lost about a third of it in crossing a +river. A flood came down suddenly just as the men were crossing and many +of them had to throw down their tusks to save their lives. We had no +means of dragging it up, and so we were obliged to leave it, which +was very sad. However, we sold what remained for nearly seven thousand +pounds, so we did not do so badly. I don't mean that I got seven +thousand pounds out of it, because, you see, I insisted upon Every +taking a half share. Poor fellow, he had earned it, if ever a man did. +He set up a store in the old colony on the proceeds and did uncommonly +well." + +"And what did you do with the lion trap?" asked Sir Henry. + +"Oh, I brought that away with me also, and when I reached Durban I put +it in my house. But really I could not bear to sit opposite to it at +nights as I smoked. Visions of that poor woman and the hand of her dead +child would rise up in my mind, and also of all the horrors of which it +had been the instrument. I began to dream at last that it held me by the +leg. This was too much for my nerves, so I just packed it up and shipped +it to its maker in England, whose name was stamped upon the steel, +sending him a letter at the same time to tell him to what purpose the +infernal machine had been put. I believe that he gave it to some museum +or other." + +"And what became of the tusks of the three bulls which you shot! You +must have left them at Nala's kraal, I suppose." + +The old gentleman's face fell at this question. + +"Ah," he said, "that is a very sad story. Nala promised to send them +with my goods to my agent at Delagoa, and so he did. But the men who +brought them were unarmed, and, as it happened, they fell in with a +slave caravan under the command of a half-bred Portuguese, who seized +the tusks, and what is worse, swore that he had shot them. I paid him +out afterwards, however," he added with a smile of satisfaction, "but it +did not give me back my tusks, which no doubt have been turned into hair +brushes long ago;" and he sighed. + +"Well," said Good, "that is a capital yarn of yours, Quatermain, +but----" + +"But what?" he asked sharply, foreseeing a draw. + +"But I don't think that it was so good as mine about the ibex--it hasn't +the same _finish_." + +Mr. Quatermain made no reply. Good was beneath it. + +"Do you know, gentlemen," he said, "it is half-past two in the morning, +and if we are going to shoot the big wood to-morrow we ought to leave +here at nine-thirty sharp." + +"Oh, if you shoot for a hundred years you will never beat the record of +those three woodcocks," I said. + +"Or of those three elephants," added Sir Henry. + +And then we all went to bed, and I dreamed that I had married Maiwa, and +was much afraid of that attractive but determined lady. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Maiwa's Revenge, by H. 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Rider Haggard + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Maiwa's Revenge, by H. Rider Haggard + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Maiwa's Revenge + The War of the Little Hand + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: March 31, 2006 [EBook #2713] +Last Updated: September 22, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAIWA'S REVENGE *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny; Emma Dudding; David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + MAIWA’S REVENGE + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + OR THE WAR OF THE LITTLE HAND <br /> <br /> by H. Rider Haggard + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <big><b>MAIWA’S REVENGE</b></big> </a> + </p> + <table summary=""> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> I—GOBO STRIKES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> II—A MORNING’S SPORT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> III—THE FIRST ROUND </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> IV—THE LAST ROUND </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> V—THE MESSAGE OF MAIWA </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VI—THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> VII—THE ATTACK </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> VIII—MAIWA IS AVENGED </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + PREFACE + </h2> + <p> + It may be well to state that the incident of the “Thing that bites” + recorded in this tale is not an effort of the imagination. On the + contrary, it is “plagiarized.” Mandara, a well-known chief on the east + coast of Africa, has such an article, <i>and uses it</i>. In the same way + the wicked conduct attributed to Wambe is not without a precedent. + T’Chaka, the Zulu Napoleon, never allowed a child of his to live. Indeed + he went further, for on discovering that his mother, Unandi, was bringing + up one of his sons in secret, like Nero he killed her, and with his own + hand. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + MAIWA’S REVENGE + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I—GOBO STRIKES + </h2> + <p> + One day—it was about a week after Allan Quatermain told me his story + of the “Three Lions,” and of the moving death of Jim-Jim—he and I + were walking home together on the termination of a day’s shooting. He + owned about two thousand acres of shooting round the place he had bought + in Yorkshire, over a hundred of which were wood. It was the second year of + his occupation of the estate, and already he had reared a very fair head + of pheasants, for he was an all-round sportsman, and as fond of shooting + with a shot-gun as with an eight-bore rifle. We were three guns that day, + Sir Henry Curtis, Old Quatermain, and myself; but Sir Henry was obliged to + leave in the middle of the afternoon in order to meet his agent, and + inspect an outlying farm where a new shed was wanted. However, he was + coming back to dinner, and going to bring Captain Good with him, for + Brayley Hall was not more than two miles from the Grange. + </p> + <p> + We had met with very fair sport, considering that we were only going + through outlying cover for cocks. I think that we had killed twenty-seven, + a woodcock and a leash of partridges which we secured out of a driven + covey. On our way home there lay a long narrow spinney, which was a very + favourite “lie” for woodcocks, and generally held a pheasant or two as + well. + </p> + <p> + “Well, what do you say?” said old Quatermain, “shall we beat through this + for a finish?” + </p> + <p> + I assented, and he called to the keeper who was following with a little + knot of beaters, and told him to beat the spinney. + </p> + <p> + “Very well, sir,” answered the man, “but it’s getting wonderful dark, and + the wind’s rising a gale. It will take you all your time to hit a woodcock + if the spinney holds one.” + </p> + <p> + “You show us the woodcocks, Jeffries,” answered Quatermain quickly, for he + never liked being crossed in anything to do with sport, “and we will look + after shooting them.” + </p> + <p> + The man turned and went rather sulkily. I heard him say to the + under-keeper, “He’s pretty good, the master is, I’m not saying he isn’t, + but if he kills a woodcock in this light and wind, I’m a Dutchman.” + </p> + <p> + I think that Quatermain heard him too, though he said nothing. The wind + was rising every minute, and by the time the beat begun it blew big guns. + I stood at the right-hand corner of the spinney, which curved round + somewhat, and Quatermain stood at the left, about forty paces from me. + Presently an old cock pheasant came rocketing over me, looking as though + the feathers were being blown out of his tail. I missed him clean with the + first barrel, and was never more pleased with myself in my life than when + I doubled him up with the second, for the shot was not an easy one. In the + faint light I could see Quatermain nodding his head in approval, when + through the groaning of the trees I heard the shouts of the beaters, “Cock + forward, cock to the right.” Then came a whole volley of shouts, “Woodcock + to the right,” “Cock to the left,” “Cock over.” + </p> + <p> + I looked up, and presently caught sight of one of the woodcocks coming + down the wind upon me like a flash. In that dim light I could not follow + all his movements as he zigzagged through the naked tree-tops; indeed I + could see him when his wings flitted up. Now he was passing me—<i>bang</i>, + and a flick of the wing, I had missed him; <i>bang</i> again. Surely he + was down; no, there he went to my left. + </p> + <p> + “Cock to you,” I shouted, stepping forward so as to get Quatermain between + me and the faint angry light of the dying day, for I wanted to see if he + would “wipe my eye.” I knew him to be a wonderful shot, but I thought that + cock would puzzle him. + </p> + <p> + I saw him raise his gun ever so little and bend forward, and at that + moment out flashed two woodcocks into the open, the one I had missed to + his right, and the other to his left. + </p> + <p> + At the same time a fresh shout arose of, “Woodcock over,” and looking down + the spinney I saw a third bird high up in the air, being blown along like + a brown and whirling leaf straight over Quatermain’s head. And then + followed the prettiest little bit of shooting that I ever saw. The bird to + the right was flying low, not ten yards from the line of a hedgerow, and + Quatermain took him first because he would become invisible the soonest of + any. Indeed, nobody who had not his hawk’s eyes could have seen to shoot + at all. But he saw the bird well enough to kill it dead as a stone. Then + turning sharply, he pulled on the second bird at about forty-five yards, + and over he went. By this time the third woodcock was nearly over him, and + flying very high, straight down the wind, a hundred feet up or more, I + should say. I saw him glance at it as he opened his gun, threw out the + right cartridge and slipped in another, turning round as he did so. By + this time the cock was nearly fifty yards away from him, and travelling + like a flash. Lifting his gun he fired after it, and, wonderful as the + shot was, killed it dead. A tearing gust of wind caught the dead bird, and + blew it away like a leaf torn from an oak, so that it fell a hundred and + thirty yards off or more. + </p> + <p> + “I say, Quatermain,” I said to him when the beaters were up, “do you often + do this sort of thing?” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” he answered, with a dry smile, “the last time I had to load three + shots as quickly as that was at rather larger game. It was at elephants. I + killed them all three as dead as I killed those woodcocks; but it very + nearly went the other way, I can tell you; I mean that they very nearly + killed me.” + </p> + <p> + Just at that moment the keeper came up, “Did you happen to get one of them + there cocks, sir?” he said, with the air of a man who did not in the least + expect an answer in the affirmative. + </p> + <p> + “Well, yes, Jeffries,” answered Quatermain; “you will find one of them by + the hedge, and another about fifty yards out by the plough there to the + left——” + </p> + <p> + The keeper had turned to go, looking a little astonished, when Quatermain + called him back. + </p> + <p> + “Stop a bit, Jeffries,” he said. “You see that pollard about one hundred + and forty yards off? Well, there should be another woodcock down in a line + with it, about sixty paces out in the field.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, if that bean’t the very smartest bit of shooting,” murmured + Jeffries, and departed. + </p> + <p> + After that we went home, and in due course Sir Henry Curtis and Captain + Good arrived for dinner, the latter arrayed in the tightest and most + ornamental dress-suit I ever saw. I remember that the waistcoat was + adorned with five pink coral buttons. + </p> + <p> + It was a very pleasant dinner. Old Quatermain was in an excellent humour; + induced, I think, by the recollection of his triumph over the doubting + Jeffries. Good, too, was full of anecdotes. He told us a most miraculous + story of how he once went shooting ibex in Kashmir. These ibex, according + to Good, he stalked early and late for four entire days. At last on the + morning of the fifth day he succeeded in getting within range of the + flock, which consisted of a magnificent old ram with horns so long that I + am afraid to mention their measure, and five or six females. Good crawled + upon his stomach, painfully taking shelter behind rocks, till he was + within two hundred yards; then he drew a fine bead upon the old ram. At + this moment, however, a diversion occurred. Some wandering native of the + hills appeared upon a distant mountain top. The females turned, and + rushing over a rock vanished from Good’s ken. But the old ram took a + bolder course. In front of him stretched a mighty crevasse at least thirty + feet in width. He went at it with a bound. Whilst he was in mid-air Good + fired, and killed him dead. The ram turned a complete somersault in space, + and fell in such fashion that his horns hooked themselves upon a big + projection of the opposite cliffs. There he hung, till Good, after a long + and painful détour, gracefully dropped a lasso over him and fished him up. + </p> + <p> + This moving tale of wild adventure was received with undeserved + incredulity. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Good, “if you fellows won’t believe my story when I tell it—a + perfectly true story mind—perhaps one of you will give us a better; + I’m not particular if it is true or not.” And he lapsed into a dignified + silence. + </p> + <p> + “Now, Quatermain,” I said, “don’t let Good beat you, let us hear how you + killed those elephants you were talking about this evening just after you + shot the woodcocks.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Quatermain, dryly, and with something like a twinkle in his + brown eyes, “it is very hard fortune for a man to have to follow on Good’s + ‘spoor.’ Indeed if it were not for that running giraffe which, as you will + remember, Curtis, we saw Good bowl over with a Martini rifle at three + hundred yards, I should almost have said that this was an impossible + tale.” + </p> + <p> + Here Good looked up with an air of indignant innocence. + </p> + <p> + “However,” he went on, rising and lighting his pipe, “if you fellows like, + I will spin you a yarn. I was telling one of you the other night about + those three lions and how the lioness finished my unfortunate + ‘voorlooper,’ Jim-Jim, the boy whom we buried in the bread-bag. + </p> + <p> + “Well, after this little experience I thought that I would settle down a + bit, so I entered upon a venture with a man who, being of a speculative + mind, had conceived the idea of running a store at Pretoria upon strictly + cash principles. The arrangement was that I should find the capital and he + the experience. Our partnership was not of a long duration. The Boers + refused to pay cash, and at the end of four months my partner had the + capital and I had the experience. After this I came to the conclusion that + store-keeping was not in my line, and having four hundred pounds left, I + sent my boy Harry to a school in Natal, and buying an outfit with what + remained of the money, started upon a big trip. + </p> + <p> + “This time I determined to go further afield than I had ever been before; + so I took a passage for a few pounds in a trading brig that ran between + Durban and Delagoa Bay. From Delagoa Bay I marched inland accompanied by + twenty porters, with the idea of striking up north, towards the Limpopo, + and keeping parallel to the coast, but at a distance of about one hundred + and fifty miles from it. For the first twenty days of our journey we + suffered a good deal from fever, that is, my men did, for I think that I + am fever proof. Also I was hard put to it to keep the camp in meat, for + although the country proved to be very sparsely populated, there was but + little game about. Indeed, during all that time I hardly killed anything + larger than a waterbuck, and, as you know, waterbuck’s flesh is not very + appetising food. On the twentieth day, however, we came to the banks of a + largish river, the Gonooroo it was called. This I crossed, and then struck + inland towards a great range of mountains, the blue crests of which we + could see lying on the distant heavens like a shadow, a continuation, as I + believe, of the Drakensberg range that skirts the coast of Natal. From + this main range a great spur shoots out some fifty miles or so towards the + coast, ending abruptly in one tremendous peak. This spur I discovered + separated the territories of two chiefs named Nala and Wambe, Wambe’s + territory being to the north, and Nala’s to the south. Nala ruled a tribe + of bastard Zulus called the Butiana, and Wambe a much larger tribe, called + the Matuku, which presents marked Bantu characteristics. For instance, + they have doors and verandahs to their huts, work skins perfectly, and + wear a waistcloth and not a moocha. At this time the Butiana were more or + less subject to the Matuku, having been surprised by them some twenty + years before and mercilessly slaughtered down. The tribe was now + recovering itself, however, and as you may imagine, it did not love the + Matuku. + </p> + <p> + “Well, I heard as I went along that elephants were very plentiful in the + dense forests which lie upon the slopes and at the foot of the mountains + that border Wambe’s territory. Also I heard a very ill report of that + worthy himself, who lived in a kraal upon the side of the mountain, which + was so strongly fortified as to be practically impregnable. It was said + that he was the most cruel chief in this part of Africa, and that he had + murdered in cold blood an entire party of English gentlemen, who, some + seven years before, had gone into his country to hunt elephants. They took + an old friend of mine with them as guide, John Every by name, and often + had I mourned over his untimely death. All the same, Wambe or no Wambe, I + determined to hunt elephants in his country. I never was afraid of + natives, and I was not going to show the white feather now. I am a bit of + a fatalist, as you fellows know, so I came to the conclusion that if it + was fated that Wambe should send me to join my old friend John Every, I + should have to go, and there was an end of it. Meanwhile, I meant to hunt + elephants with a peaceful heart. + </p> + <p> + “On the third day from the date of our sighting the great peak, we found + ourselves beneath its shadow. Still following the course of the river + which wound through the forests at the base of the peak, we entered the + territory of the redoubtable Wambe. This, however, was not accomplished + without a certain difference of opinion between my bearers and myself, for + when we reached the spot where Wambe’s boundary was supposed to run, the + bearers sat down and emphatically refused to go a step further. I sat down + too, and argued with them, putting my fatalistic views before them as well + as I was able. But I could not persuade them to look at the matter in the + same light. ‘At present,’ they said, ‘their skins were whole; if they went + into Wambe’s country without his leave they would soon be like a + water-eaten leaf. It was very well for me to say that this would be Fate. + Fate no doubt might be walking about in Wambe’s country, but while they + stopped outside they would not meet him.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Well,’ I said to Gobo, my head man, ‘and what do you mean to do?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘We mean to go back to the coast, Macumazahn,’ he answered insolently. + </p> + <p> + “‘Do you?’ I replied, for my bile was stirred. ‘At any rate, Mr. Gobo, you + and one or two others will never get there; see here, my friend,’ and I + took a repeating rifle and sat myself comfortably down, resting my back + against a tree—‘I have just breakfasted, and I had as soon spend the + day here as anywhere else. Now if you or any of those men walk one step + back from here, and towards the coast, I shall fire at you; and you know + that I don’t miss.’ + </p> + <p> + “The man fingered the spear he was carrying—luckily all my guns were + stacked against the tree—and then turned as though to walk away, the + others keeping their eyes fixed upon him all the while. I rose and covered + him with the rifle, and though he kept up a brave appearance of unconcern, + I saw that he was glancing nervously at me all the time. When he had gone + about twenty yards I spoke very quietly— + </p> + <p> + “‘Now, Gobo,’ I said, ‘come back, or I shall fire.’ + </p> + <p> + “Of course this was taking a very high hand; I had no real right to kill + Gobo or anybody else because they objected to run the risk of death by + entering the territory of a hostile chief. But I felt that if I wished to + keep up any authority it was absolutely necessary that I should push + matters to the last extremity short of actually shooting him. So I sat + there, looking fierce as a lion, and keeping the sight of my rifle in a + dead line for Gobo’s ribs. Then Gobo, feeling that the situation was + getting strained, gave in. + </p> + <p> + “‘Don’t shoot, Boss,’ he shouted, throwing up his hand, ‘I will come with + you.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘I thought you would,’ I answered quietly; ‘you see Fate walks about + outside Wambe’s country as well as in it.’ + </p> + <p> + “After that I had no more trouble, for Gobo was the ringleader, and when + he collapsed the others collapsed also. Harmony being thus restored, we + crossed the line, and on the following morning I began shooting in good + earnest.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II—A MORNING’S SPORT + </h2> + <p> + “Moving some five or six miles round the base of the great peak of which I + have spoken, we came the same day to one of the fairest bits of African + country that I have seen outside of Kukuanaland. At this spot the mountain + spur that runs out at right angles to the great range, which stretches its + cloud-clad length north and south as far as the eye can reach, sweeps + inwards with a vast and splendid curve. This curve measures some + five-and-thirty miles from point to point, and across its moon-like + segment the river flashed, a silver line of light. On the further side of + the river is a measureless sea of swelling ground, a natural park covered + with great patches of bush—some of them being many square miles in + extent. These are separated one from another by glades of grass land, + broken here and there with clumps of timber trees; and in some instances + by curious isolated koppies, and even by single crags of granite that + start up into the air as though they were monuments carved by man, and not + tombstones set by nature over the grave of ages gone. On the west this + beautiful plain is bordered by the lonely mountain, from the edge of which + it rolls down toward the fever coast; but how far it runs to the north I + cannot say—eight days’ journey, according to the natives, when it is + lost in an untravelled morass. + </p> + <p> + “On the hither side of the river the scenery is different. Along the edge + of its banks, where the land is flat, are green patches of swamp. Then + comes a wide belt of beautiful grass land covered thickly with game, and + sloping up very gently to the borders of the forest, which, beginning at + about a thousand feet above the level of the plain, clothes the + mountain-side almost to its crest. In this forest grow great trees, most + of them of the yellow-wood species. Some of these trees are so lofty, that + a bird in their top branches would be out of range of an ordinary shot + gun. Another peculiar thing about them is, that they are for the most part + covered with a dense growth of the Orchilla moss; and from this moss the + natives manufacture a most excellent deep purple dye, with which they + stain tanned hides and also cloth, when they happen to get any of the + latter. I do not think that I ever saw anything more remarkable than the + appearance of one of these mighty trees festooned from top to bottom with + trailing wreaths of this sad-hued moss, in which the wind whispers gently + as it stirs them. At a distance it looks like the gray locks of a Titan + crowned with bright green leaves, and here and there starred with the rich + bloom of orchids. + </p> + <p> + “The night of that day on which I had my little difference of opinion with + Gobo, we camped by the edge of this great forest, and on the following + morning at daylight I started out shooting. As we were short of meat I + determined to kill a buffalo, of which there were plenty about, before + looking for traces of elephants. Not more than half a mile from camp we + came across a trail broad as a cart-road, evidently made by a great herd + of buffaloes which had passed up at dawn from their feeding ground in the + marshes, to spend the day in the cool air of the uplands. This trail I + followed boldly; for such wind as there was blew straight down the + mountain-side, that is, from the direction in which the buffaloes had + gone, to me. About a mile further on the forest began to be dense, and the + nature of the trail showed me that I must be close to my game. Another two + hundred yards and the bush was so thick that, had it not been for the + trail, we could scarcely have passed through it. As it was, Gobo, who + carried my eight-bore rifle (for I had the .570-express in my hand), and + the other two men whom I had taken with me, showed the very strongest + dislike to going any further, pointing out that there was ‘no room to run + away.’ I told them that they need not come unless they liked, but that I + was certainly going on; and then, growing ashamed, they came. + </p> + <p> + “Another fifty yards, and the trail opened into a little glade. I knelt + down and peeped and peered, but no buffalo could I see. Evidently the herd + had broken up here—I knew that from the spoor—and penetrated + the opposite bush in little troops. I crossed the glade, and choosing one + line of spoor, followed it for some sixty yards, when it became clear to + me that I was surrounded by buffaloes; and yet so dense was the cover that + I could not see any. A few yards to my left I could hear one rubbing its + horns against a tree, while from my right came an occasional low and + throaty grunt which told me that I was uncomfortably near an old bull. I + crept on towards him with my heart in my mouth, as gently as though I were + walking upon eggs for a bet, lifting every little bit of wood in my path, + and placing it behind me lest it should crack and warn the game. After me + in single file came my three retainers, and I don’t know which of them + looked the most frightened. Presently Gobo touched my leg; I glanced + round, and saw him pointing slantwise towards the left. I lifted my head a + little and peeped over a mass of creepers; beyond the creepers was a dense + bush of sharp-pointed aloes, of that kind of which the leaves project + laterally, and on the other side of the aloes, not fifteen paces from us, + I made out the horns, neck, and the ridge of the back of a tremendous old + bull. I took my eight-bore, and getting on to my knee prepared to shoot + him through the neck, taking my chance of cutting his spine. I had already + covered him as well as the aloe leaves would allow, when he gave a kind of + sigh and lay down. + </p> + <p> + “I looked round in dismay. What was to be done now? I could not see to + shoot him lying down, even if my bullet would have pierced the intervening + aloes—which was doubtful—and if I stood up he would either run + away or charge me. I reflected, and came to the conclusion that the only + thing to do was to lie down also; for I did not fancy wandering after + other buffaloes in that dense bush. If a buffalo lies down, it is clear + that he must get up again some time, so it was only a case of patience—‘fighting + the fight of sit down,’ as the Zulus say. + </p> + <p> + “Accordingly I sat down and lighted a pipe, thinking that the smell of it + might reach the buffalo and make him get up. But the wind was the wrong + way, and it did not; so when it was done I lit another. Afterwards I had + cause to regret that pipe. + </p> + <p> + “Well, we squatted like this for between half and three quarters of an + hour, till at length I began to grow heartily sick of the performance. It + was about as dull a business as the last hour of a comic opera. I could + hear buffaloes snorting and moving all round, and see the red-beaked tic + birds flying up off their backs, making a kind of hiss as they did so, + something like that of the English missel-thrush, but I could not see a + single buffalo. As for my old bull, I think he must have slept the sleep + of the just, for he never even stirred. + </p> + <p> + “Just as I was making up my mind that something must be done to save the + situation, my attention was attracted by a curious grinding noise. At + first I thought that it must be a buffalo chewing the cud, but was obliged + to abandon the idea because the noise was too loud. I shifted myself round + and stared through the cracks in the bush, in the direction whence the + sound seemed to come, and once I thought that I saw something gray moving + about fifty yards off, but could not make certain. Although the grinding + noise still continued I could see nothing more, so I gave up thinking + about it, and once again turned my attention to the buffalo. Presently, + however, something happened. Suddenly from about forty yards away there + came a tremendous snorting sound, more like that made by an engine getting + a heavy train under weigh than anything else in the world. + </p> + <p> + “‘By Jove,’ I thought, turning round in the direction from which the + grinding sound had come, ‘that must be a rhinoceros, and he has got our + wind.’ For, as you fellows know, there is no mistaking the sound made by a + rhinoceros when he gets wind of you. + </p> + <p> + “Another second, and I heard a most tremendous crashing noise. Before I + could think what to do, before I could even get up, the bush behind me + seemed to burst asunder, and there appeared not eight yards from us, the + great horn and wicked twinkling eye of a charging rhinoceros. He had + winded us or my pipe, I do not know which, and, after the fashion of these + brutes, had charged up the scent. I could not rise, I could not even get + the gun up, I had no time. All that I was able to do was to roll over as + far out of the monster’s path as the bush would allow. Another second and + he was over me, his great bulk towering above me like a mountain, and, + upon my word, I could not get his smell out of my nostrils for a week. + Circumstances impressed it on my memory, at least I suppose so. His hot + breath blew upon my face, one of his front feet just missed my head, and + his hind one actually trod upon the loose part of my trousers and pinched + a little bit of my skin. I saw him pass over me lying as I was upon my + back, and next second I saw something else. My men were a little behind + me, and therefore straight in the path of the rhinoceros. One of them + flung himself backwards into the bush, and thus avoided him. The second + with a wild yell sprung to his feet, and bounded like an india-rubber ball + right into the aloe bush, landing well among the spikes. But the third, it + was my friend Gobo, could not by any means get away. He managed to gain + his feet, and that was all. The rhinoceros was charging with his head low; + his horn passed between Gobo’s legs, and feeling something on his nose, he + jerked it up. Away went Gobo, high into the air. He turned a complete + somersault at the apex of the curve, and as he did so, I caught sight of + his face. It was gray with terror, and his mouth was wide open. Down he + came, right on to the great brute’s back, and that broke his fall. Luckily + for him the rhinoceros never turned, but crashed straight through the aloe + bush, only missing the man who had jumped into it by about a yard. + </p> + <p> + “Then followed a complication. The sleeping buffalo on the further side of + the bush, hearing the noise, sprang to his feet, and for a second, not + knowing what to do, stood still. At that instant the huge rhinoceros + blundered right on to him, and getting his horn beneath his stomach gave + him such a fearful dig that the buffalo was turned over on to his back, + while his assailant went a most amazing cropper over his carcase. In + another moment, however, the rhinoceros was up, and wheeling round to the + left, crashed through the bush down-hill and towards the open country. + </p> + <p> + “Instantly the whole place became alive with alarming sounds. In every + direction troops of snorting buffaloes charged through the forest, wild + with fright, while the injured bull on the further side of the bush began + to bellow like a mad thing. I lay quite still for a moment, devoutly + praying that none of the flying buffaloes would come my way. Then when the + danger lessened I got on to my feet, shook myself, and looked round. One + of my boys, he who had thrown himself backward into the bush, was already + half way up a tree—if heaven had been at the top of it he could not + have climbed quicker. Gobo was lying close to me, groaning vigorously, + but, as I suspected, quite unhurt; while from the aloe bush into which No. + 3 had bounded like a tennis ball, issued a succession of the most piercing + yells. + </p> + <p> + “I looked, and saw that this unfortunate fellow was in a very tight place. + A great spike of aloe had run through the back of his skin waist-belt, + though without piercing his flesh, in such a fashion that it was + impossible for him to move, while within six feet of him the injured + buffalo bull, thinking, no doubt, that he was the aggressor, bellowed and + ramped to get at him, tearing the thick aloes with his great horns. That + no time was to be lost, if I wished to save the man’s life, was very + clear. So seizing my eight-bore, which was fortunately uninjured, I took a + pace to the left, for the rhinoceros had enlarged the hole in the bush, + and aimed at the point of the buffalo’s shoulder, since on account of my + position I could not get a fair side shot for the heart. As I did so I saw + that the rhinoceros had given the bull a tremendous wound in the stomach, + and that the shock of the encounter had put his left hind-leg out of joint + at the hip. I fired, and the bullet striking the shoulder broke it, and + knocked the buffalo down. I knew that he could not get up any more, + because he was now injured fore and aft, so notwithstanding his terrific + bellows I scrambled round to where he was. There he lay glaring furiously + and tearing up the soil with his horns. Stepping up to within two yards of + him I aimed at the vertebra of his neck and fired. The bullet struck true, + and with a thud he dropped his head upon the ground, groaned, and died. + </p> + <p> + “This little matter having been attended to with the assistance of Gobo, + who had now found his feet, I went on to extricate our unfortunate + companion from the aloe bush. This we found a thorny task, but at last he + was dragged forth uninjured, though in a very pious and prayerful frame of + mind. His ‘spirit had certainly looked that way,’ he said, or he would now + have been dead. As I never like to interfere with true piety, I did not + venture to suggest that his spirit had deigned to make use of my + eight-bore in his interest. + </p> + <p> + “Having despatched this boy back to the camp to tell the bearers to come + and cut the buffalo up, I bethought me that I owed that rhinoceros a + grudge which I should love to repay. So without saying a word of what was + in my mind to Gobo, who was now more than ever convinced that Fate walked + about loose in Wambe’s country, I just followed on the brute’s spoor. He + had crashed through the bush till he reached the little glade. Then + moderating his pace somewhat, he had followed the glade down its entire + length, and once more turned to the right through the forest, shaping his + course for the open land that lies between the edge of the bush and the + river. Having followed him for a mile or so further, I found myself quite + on the open. I took out my glasses and searched the plain. About a mile + ahead was something brown—as I thought, the rhinoceros. I advanced + another quarter of a mile, and looked once more—it was not the + rhinoceros, but a big ant-heap. This was puzzling, but I did not like to + give it up, because I knew from his spoor that he must be somewhere ahead. + But as the wind was blowing straight from me towards the line that he had + followed, and as a rhinoceros can smell you for about a mile, it would + not, I felt, be safe to follow his trail any further; so I made a détour + of a mile and more, till I was nearly opposite the ant-heap, and then once + more searched the plain. It was no good, I could see nothing of him, and + was about to give it up and start after some oryx I saw on the skyline, + when suddenly at a distance of about three hundred yards from the + ant-heap, and on its further side, I saw my rhino stand up in a patch of + grass. + </p> + <p> + “‘Heavens!’ I thought to myself, ‘he’s off again;’ but no, after standing + staring for a minute or two he once more lay down. + </p> + <p> + “Now I found myself in a quandary. As you know, a rhinoceros is a very + short-sighted brute, indeed his sight is as bad as his scent is good. Of + this fact he is perfectly aware, but he always makes the most of his + natural gifts. For instance, when he lies down he invariably does so with + his head down wind. Thus, if any enemy crosses his wind he will still be + able to escape, or attack him; and if, on the other hand, the danger + approaches up wind he will at least have a chance of seeing it. Otherwise, + by walking delicately, one might actually kick him up like a partridge, if + only the advance was made up wind. + </p> + <p> + “Well, the point was, how on earth should I get within shot of this + rhinoceros? After much deliberation I determined to try a side approach, + thinking that in this way I might get a shoulder shot. Accordingly we + started in a crouching attitude, I first, Gobo holding on to my coat + tails, and the other boy on to Gobo’s moocha. I always adopt this plan + when stalking big game, for if you follow any other system the bearers + will get out of line. We arrived within three hundred yards safely enough, + and then the real difficulties began. The grass had been so closely eaten + off by game that there was scarcely any cover. Consequently it was + necessary to go on to our hands and knees, which in my case involved + laying down the eight-bore at every step and then lifting it up again. + However, I wriggled along somehow, and if it had not been for Gobo and his + friend no doubt everything would have gone well. But as you have, I dare + say, observed, a native out stalking is always of that mind which is + supposed to actuate an ostrich—so long as his head is hidden he + seems to think that nothing else can be seen. So it was in this instance, + Gobo and the other boy crept along on their hands and toes with their + heads well down, but, though unfortunately I did not notice it till too + late, bearing the fundamental portions of their frames high in the air. + Now all animals are quite as suspicious of this end of mankind as they are + of his face, and of that fact I soon had a proof. Just when we had got + within about two hundred yards, and I was congratulating myself that I had + not had this long crawl with the sun beating on the back of my neck like a + furnace for nothing, I heard the hissing note of the rhinoceros birds, and + up flew four or five of them from the brute’s back, where they had been + comfortably employed in catching tics. Now this performance on the part of + the birds is to a rhinoceros what the word ‘cave’ is to a schoolboy—it + puts him on the <i>qui vive</i> at once. Before the birds were well in the + air I saw the grass stir. + </p> + <p> + “‘Down you go,’ I whispered to the boys, and as I did so the rhinoceros + got up and glared suspiciously around. But he could see nothing, indeed if + we had been standing up I doubt if he would have seen us at that distance; + so he merely gave two or three sniffs and then lay down, his head still + down wind, the birds once more settling on his back. + </p> + <p> + “But it was clear to me that he was sleeping with one eye open, being + generally in a suspicious and unchristian frame of mind, and that it was + useless to proceed further on this stalk, so we quietly withdrew to + consider the position and study the ground. The results were not + satisfactory. There was absolutely no cover about except the ant-heap, + which was some three hundred yards from the rhinoceros upon his up-wind + side. I knew that if I tried to stalk him in front I should fail, and so I + should if I attempted to do so from the further side—he or the birds + would see me; so I came to a conclusion: I would go to the ant-heap, which + would give him my wind, and instead of stalking him I would let him stalk + me. It was a bold step, and one which I should never advise a hunter to + take, but somehow I felt as though rhino and I must play the hand out. + </p> + <p> + “I explained my intentions to the men, who both held up their arms in + horror. Their fears for my safety were a little mitigated, however, when I + told them that I did not expect them to come with me. + </p> + <p> + “Gobo breathed a prayer that I might not meet Fate walking about, and the + other one sincerely trusted that my spirit might look my way when the + rhinoceros charged, and then they both departed to a place of safety. + </p> + <p> + “Taking my eight-bore, and half-a-dozen spare cartridges in my pocket, I + made a détour, and reaching the ant-heap in safety lay down. For a moment + the wind had dropped, but presently a gentle puff of air passed over me, + and blew on towards the rhinoceros. By the way, I wonder what it is that + smells so strong about a man? Is it his body or his breath? I have never + been able to make out, but I saw it stated the other day, that in the duck + decoys the man who is working the ducks holds a little piece of burning + turf before his mouth, and that if he does this they cannot smell him, + which looks as though it were the breath. Well, whatever it was about me + that attracted his attention, the rhinoceros soon smelt me, for within + half a minute after the puff of wind had passed me he was on his legs, and + turning round to get his head up wind. There he stood for a few seconds + and sniffed, and then he began to move, first of all at a trot, then, as + the scent grew stronger, at a furious gallop. On he came, snorting like a + runaway engine, with his tail stuck straight up in the air; if he had seen + me lie down there he could not have made a better line. It was rather + nervous work, I can tell you, lying there waiting for his onslaught, for + he looked like a mountain of flesh. I determined, however, not to fire + till I could plainly see his eye, for I think that rule always gives one + the right distance for big game; so I rested my rifle on the ant-heap and + waited for him, kneeling. At last, when he was about forty yards away, I + saw that the time had come, and aiming straight for the middle of the + chest I pulled. + </p> + <p> + “<i>Thud</i> went the heavy bullet, and with a tremendous snort over + rolled the rhinoceros beneath its shock, just like a shot rabbit. But if I + had thought that he was done for I was mistaken, for in another second he + was up again, and coming at me as hard as ever, only with his head held + low. I waited till he was within ten yards, in the hope that he would + expose his chest, but he would do nothing of the sort; so I just had to + fire at his head with the left barrel, and take my chance. Well, as luck + would have it, of course the animal put its horn in the way of the bullet, + which cut clean through it about three inches above the root and then + glanced off into space. + </p> + <p> + “After that things got rather serious. My gun was empty and the rhinoceros + was rapidly arriving, so rapidly indeed that I came to the conclusion that + I had better make way for him. Accordingly I jumped to my feet and ran to + the right as hard as I could go. As I did so he arrived full tilt, knocked + my friendly ant-heap flat, and for the third time that day went a most + magnificent cropper. This gave me a few seconds’ start, and I ran down + wind—my word, I did run! Unfortunately, however, my modest retreat + was observed, and the rhinoceros, as soon as he had found his legs again, + set to work to run after me. Now no man on earth can run so fast as an + irritated rhinoceros can gallop, and I knew that he must soon catch me up. + But having some slight experience of this sort of thing, luckily for + myself, I kept my head, and as I fled I managed to open my rifle, get the + old cartridges out, and put in two fresh ones. To do this I was obliged to + steady my pace a little, and by the time that I had snapped the rifle to I + heard the beast snorting and thundering away within a few paces of my + back. I stopped, and as I did so rapidly cocked the rifle and slued round + upon my heel. By this time the brute was within six or seven yards of me, + but luckily his head was up. I lifted the rifle and fired at him. It was a + snap shot, but the bullet struck him in the chest within three inches of + the first, and found its way into his lungs. It did not stop him, however, + so all I could do was to bound to one side, which I did with surprising + activity, and as he brushed past me to fire the other barrel into his + side. That did for him. The ball passed in behind the shoulder and right + through his heart. He fell over on to his side, gave one more awful squeal—a + dozen pigs could not have made such a noise—and promptly died, + keeping his wicked eyes wide open all the time. + </p> + <p> + “As for me, I blew my nose, and going up to the rhinoceros sat on his + head, and reflected that I had done a capital morning’s shooting.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III—THE FIRST ROUND + </h2> + <p> + “After this, as it was now midday, and I had killed enough meat, we + marched back triumphantly to camp, where I proceeded to concoct a stew of + buffalo beef and compressed vegetables. When this was ready we ate the + stew, and then I took a nap. About four o’clock, however, Gobo woke me up, + and told me that the head man of one of Wambe’s kraals had arrived to see + me. I ordered him to be brought up, and presently he came, a little, + wizened, talkative old man, with a waistcloth round his middle, and a + greasy, frayed kaross made of the skins of rock rabbits over his + shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “I told him to sit down, and then abused him roundly. ‘What did he mean,’ + I asked, ‘by disturbing me in this rude way? How did he dare to cause a + person of my quality and evident importance to be awakened in order to + interview his entirely contemptible self?’ + </p> + <p> + “I spoke thus because I knew that it would produce an impression on him. + Nobody, except a really great man, he would argue, would dare to speak to + him in that fashion. Most savages are desperate bullies at heart, and look + on insolence as a sign of power. + </p> + <p> + “The old man instantly collapsed. He was utterly overcome, he said; his + heart was split in two, and well realized the extent of his misbehaviour. + But the occasion was very urgent. He heard that a mighty hunter was in the + neighbourhood, a beautiful white man, how beautiful he could not have + imagined had he not seen (this to me!), and he came to beg his assistance. + The truth was, that three bull elephants such as no man ever saw had for + years been the terror of their kraal, which was but a small place—a + cattle kraal of the great chief Wambe’s, where they lived to keep the + cattle. And now of late these elephants had done them much damage; but + last night they had destroyed a whole patch of mealie land, and he feared + that if they came back they would all starve next season for want of food. + Would the mighty white man then be pleased to come and kill the elephants? + It would be easy for him to do—oh, most easy! It was only necessary + that he should hide himself in a tree, for there was a full moon, and then + when the elephants appeared he would speak to them with the gun, and they + would fall down dead, and there would be an end of their troubling. + </p> + <p> + “Of course I hummed and hawed, and made a great favour of consenting to + his proposal, though really I was delighted to have such a chance. One of + the conditions that I made was that a messenger should at once be + despatched to Wambe, whose kraal was two days’ journey from where I was, + telling him that I proposed to come and pay my respects to him in a few + days, and to ask his formal permission to shoot in his country. Also I + intimated that I was prepared to present him with ‘hongo,’ that is, + blackmail, and that I hoped to do a little trade with him in ivory, of + which I heard he had a great quantity. + </p> + <p> + “This message the old gentleman promised to despatch at once, though there + was something about his manner which showed me that he was doubtful as to + how it would be received. After that we struck our camp and moved on to + the kraal, which we reached about an hour before sunset. This kraal was a + collection of huts surrounded by a slight thorn-fence, perhaps there were + ten of them in all. It was situated in a kloof of the mountain down which + a rivulet flowed. The kloof was densely wooded, but for some distance + above the kraal it was free from bush, and here on the rich deep ground + brought down by the rivulet were the cultivated lands, in extent somewhere + about twenty or twenty-five acres. On the kraal side of these lands stood + a single hut, that served for a mealie store, which at the moment was used + as a dwelling-place by an old woman, the first wife of our friend the head + man. + </p> + <p> + “It appears that this lady, having had some difference of opinion with her + husband about the extent of authority allowed to a younger and more + amiable wife, had refused to dwell in the kraal any more, and, by way of + marking her displeasure, had taken up her abode among the mealies. As the + issue will show, she was, it happened, cutting off her nose to spite her + face. + </p> + <p> + “Close by this hut grew a large baobab tree. A glance at the mealie + grounds showed me that the old head man had not exaggerated the mischief + done by the elephants to his crops, which were now getting ripe. Nearly + half of the entire patch was destroyed. The great brutes had eaten all + they could, and the rest they had trampled down. I went up to their spoor + and started back in amazement—never had I seen such a spoor before. + It was simply enormous, more especially that of one old bull, that + carried, so said the natives, but a single tusk. One might have used any + of the footprints for a hip-bath. + </p> + <p> + “Having taken stock of the position, my next step was to make arrangements + for the fray. The three bulls, according to the natives, had been spoored + into the dense patch of bush above the kloof. Now it seemed to me very + probable that they would return to-night to feed on the remainder of the + ripening mealies. If so, there was a bright moon, and it struck me that by + the exercise of a little ingenuity I might bag one or more of them without + exposing myself to any risk, which, having the highest respect for the + aggressive powers of bull elephants, was a great consideration to me. + </p> + <p> + “This then was my plan. To the right of the huts as you look up the kloof, + and commanding the mealie lands, stands the baobab tree that I have + mentioned. Into that baobab tree I made up my mind to go. Then if the + elephants appeared I should get a shot at them. I announced my intentions + to the head man of the kraal, who was delighted. ‘Now,’ he said, ‘his + people might sleep in peace, for while the mighty white hunter sat aloft + like a spirit watching over the welfare of his kraal what was there to + fear?’ + </p> + <p> + “I told him that he was an ungrateful brute to think of sleeping in peace + while, perched like a wounded vulture on a tree, I watched for his welfare + in wakeful sorrow; and once more he collapsed, and owned that my words + were ‘sharp but just.’ + </p> + <p> + “However, as I have said, confidence was completely restored; and that + evening everybody in the kraal, including the superannuated victim of + jealousy in the little hut where the mealie cobs were stored, went to bed + with a sense of sweet security from elephants and all other animals that + prowl by night. + </p> + <p> + “For my part, I pitched my camp below the kraal; and then, having procured + a beam of wood from the head man—rather a rotten one, by the way—I + set it across two boughs that ran out laterally from the baobab tree, at a + height of about twenty-five feet from the ground, in such fashion that I + and another man could sit upon it with our legs hanging down, and rest our + backs against the bole of the tree. This done I went back to the camp and + ate my supper. About nine o’clock, half-an-hour before the moon-rise, I + summoned Gobo, who, thinking that he had seen about enough of the delights + of big game hunting for that day, did not altogether relish the job; and, + despite his remonstrances, gave him my eight-bore to carry, I having the + .570-express. Then we set out for the tree. It was very dark, but we found + it without difficulty, though climbing it was a more complicated matter. + However, at last we got up and sat down, like two little boys on a form + that is too high for them, and waited. I did not dare to smoke, because I + remembered the rhinoceros, and feared that the elephants might wind the + tobacco if they should come my way, and this made the business more + wearisome, so I fell to thinking and wondering at the completeness of the + silence. + </p> + <p> + “At last the moon came up, and with it a moaning wind, at the breath of + which the silence began to whisper mysteriously. Lonely enough in the + newborn light looked the wide expanse of mountain, plain, and forest, more + like some vision of a dream, some reflection from a fair world of peace + beyond our ken, than the mere face of garish earth made soft with sleep. + Indeed, had it not been for the fact that I was beginning to find the log + on which I sat very hard, I should have grown quite sentimental over the + beautiful sight; but I will defy anybody to become sentimental when seated + in the damp, on a very rough beam of wood, and half-way up a tree. So I + merely made a mental note that it was a particularly lovely night, and + turned my attention to the prospect of elephants. But no elephants came, + and after waiting for another hour or so, I think that what between + weariness and disgust, I must have dropped into a gentle doze. Presently I + awoke with a start. Gobo, who was perched close to me, but as far off as + the beam would allow—for neither white man nor black like the aroma + which each vows is the peculiar and disagreeable property of the other—was + faintly, very faintly clicking his forefinger against his thumb. I knew by + this signal, a very favourite one among native hunters and gun-bearers, + that he must have seen or heard something. I looked at his face, and saw + that he was staring excitedly towards the dim edge of the bush beyond the + deep green line of mealies. I stared too, and listened. Presently I heard + a soft large sound as though a giant were gently stretching out his hands + and pressing back the ears of standing corn. Then came a pause, and then, + out into the open majestically stalked the largest elephant I ever saw or + ever shall see. Heavens! what a monster he was; and how the moonlight + gleamed upon his one splendid tusk—for the other was missing—as + he stood among the mealies gently moving his enormous ears to and fro, and + testing the wind with his trunk. While I was still marvelling at his + girth, and speculating upon the weight of that huge tusk, which I swore + should be my tusk before very long, out stepped a second bull and stood + beside him. He was not quite so tall, but he seemed to me to be almost + thicker-set than the first; and even in that light I could see that both + his tusks were perfect. Another pause, and the third emerged. He was + shorter than either of the others, but higher in the shoulder than No. 2; + and when I tell you, as I afterwards learnt from actual measurement, that + the smallest of these mighty bulls measured twelve feet one and a half + inches at the shoulder, it will give you some idea of their size. The + three formed into line and stood still for a minute, the one-tusked bull + gently caressing the elephant on the left with his trunk. + </p> + <p> + “Then they began to feed, walking forward and slightly to the right as + they gathered great bunches of the sweet mealies and thrust them into + their mouths. All this time they were more than a hundred and twenty yards + away from me (this I knew, because I had paced the distances from the tree + to various points), much too far to allow of my attempting a shot at them + in that uncertain light. They fed in a semicircle, gradually drawing round + towards the hut near my tree, in which the corn was stored and the old + woman slept. + </p> + <p> + “This went on for between an hour and an hour and a half, till, what + between excitement and hope, that maketh the heart sick, I grew so weary + that I was actually contemplating a descent from the tree and a moonlight + stalk. Such an act in ground so open would have been that of a stark + staring lunatic, and that I should even have been contemplating it will + show you the condition of my mind. But everything comes to him who knows + how to wait, and sometimes too to him who doesn’t, and so at last those + elephants, or rather one of them, came to me. + </p> + <p> + “After they had fed their fill, which was a very large one, the noble + three stood once more in line some seventy yards to the left of the hut, + and on the edge of the cultivated lands, or in all about eighty-five yards + from where I was perched. Then at last the one with a single tusk made a + peculiar rattling noise in his trunk, just as though he were blowing his + nose, and without more ado began to walk deliberately toward the hut where + the old woman slept. I made my rifle ready and glanced up at the moon, + only to discover that a new complication was looming in the immediate + future. I have said that a wind rose with the moon. Well, the wind brought + rain-clouds along its track. Several light ones had already lessened the + light for a little while, though without obscuring it, and now two more + were coming up rapidly, both of them very black and dense. The first cloud + was small and long, and the one behind big and broad. I remember noticing + that the pair of them bore a most comical resemblance to a dray drawn by a + very long raw-boned horse. As luck would have it, just as the elephant + arrived within twenty-five yards or so of me, the head of the horse-cloud + floated over the face of the moon, rendering it impossible for me to fire. + In the faint twilight which remained, however, I could just make out the + gray mass of the great brute still advancing towards the hut. Then the + light went altogether and I had to trust to my ears. I heard him fumbling + with his trunk, apparently at the roof of the hut; next came a sound as of + straw being drawn out, and then for a little while there was complete + silence. + </p> + <p> + “The cloud began to pass; I could see the outline of the elephant; he was + standing with his head quite over the top of the hut. But I could not see + his trunk, and no wonder, for it was <i>inside the hut</i>. He had thrust + it through the roof, and, attracted no doubt by the smell of the mealies, + was groping about with it inside. It was growing light now, and I got my + rifle ready, when suddenly there was a most awful yell, and I saw the + trunk reappear, and in its mighty fold the old woman who had been sleeping + in the hut. Out she came through the hole like a periwinkle on the point + of a pin, still wrapped up in her blanket, and with her skinny arms and + legs stretched to the four points of the compass, and as she did so, gave + that most alarming screech. I really don’t know who was the most + frightened, she, or I, or the elephant. At any rate the last was + considerably startled; he had been fishing for mealies—the old woman + was a mere accident, and one that greatly discomposed his nerves. He gave + a sort of trumpet, and threw her away from him right into the crown of a + low mimosa tree, where she stuck shrieking like a metropolitan engine. The + old bull lifted his tail, and flapping his great ears prepared for flight. + I put up my eight-bore, and aiming hastily at the point of his shoulder + (for he was broadside on), I fired. The report rang out like thunder, + making a thousand echoes in the quiet hills. I saw him go down all of a + heap as though he were stone dead. Then, alas! whether it was the kick of + the heavy rifle, or the excited bump of that idiot Gobo, or both together, + or merely an unhappy coincidence, I do not know, but the rotten beam broke + and I went down too, landing flat at the foot of the tree upon a certain + humble portion of the human frame. The shock was so severe that I felt as + though all my teeth were flying through the roof of my mouth, but although + I sat slightly stunned for a few seconds, luckily for me I fell light, and + was not in any way injured. + </p> + <p> + “Meanwhile the elephant began to scream with fear and fury, and, attracted + by his cries, the other two charged up. I felt for my rifle; it was not + there. Then I remembered that I had rested it on a fork of the bough in + order to fire, and doubtless there it remained. My position was now very + unpleasant. I did not dare to try and climb the tree again, which, shaken + as I was, would have been a task of some difficulty, because the elephants + would certainly see me, and Gobo, who had clung to a bough, was still + aloft with the other rifle. I could not run because there was no shelter + near. Under these circumstances I did the only thing feasible, clambered + round the trunk as softly as possible, and keeping one eye on the + elephants, whispered to Gobo to bring down the rifle, and awaited the + development of the situation. I knew that if the elephants did not see me—which, + luckily, they were too enraged to do—they would not smell me, for I + was up-wind. Gobo, however, either did not, or, preferring the safety of + the tree, would not hear me. He said the former, but I believed the + latter, for I knew that he was not enough of a sportsman to really enjoy + shooting elephants by moonlight in the open. So there I was behind my + tree, dismayed, unarmed, but highly interested, for I was witnessing a + remarkable performance. + </p> + <p> + “When the two other bulls arrived the wounded elephant on the ground + ceased to scream, but began to make a low moaning noise, and to gently + touch the wound near his shoulder, from which the blood was literally + spouting. The other two seemed to understand; at any rate, they did this. + Kneeling down on either side, they placed their trunks and tusks + underneath him, and, aided by his own efforts, with one great lift got him + on to his feet. Then leaning against him on either side to support him, + they marched off at a walk in the direction of the village.[*] It was a + pitiful sight, and even then it made me feel a brute. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] The Editor would have been inclined to think that in + relating this incident Mr. Quatermain was making himself + interesting at the expense of the exact truth, did it not + happen that a similar incident has come within his + knowledge.—Editor. +</pre> + <p> + “Presently, from a walk, as the wounded elephant gathered himself together + a little, they broke into a trot, and after that I could follow them no + longer with my eyes, for the second black cloud came up over the moon and + put her out, as an extinguisher puts out a dip. I say with my eyes, but my + ears gave me a very fair notion of what was going on. When the cloud came + up the three terrified animals were heading directly for the kraal, + probably because the way was open and the path easy. I fancy that they + grew confused in the darkness, for when they came to the kraal fence they + did not turn aside, but crashed straight through it. Then there were + ‘times,’ as the Irish servant-girl says in the American book. Having taken + the fence, they thought that they might as well take the kraal also, so + they just ran over it. One hive-shaped hut was turned quite over on to its + top, and when I arrived upon the scene the people who had been sleeping + there were bumbling about inside like bees disturbed at night, while two + more were crushed flat, and a third had all its side torn out. Oddly + enough, however, nobody was hurt, though several people had a narrow + escape of being trodden to death. + </p> + <p> + “On arrival I found the old head man in a state painfully like that + favoured by Greek art, dancing about in front of his ruined abodes as + vigorously as though he had just been stung by a scorpion. + </p> + <p> + “I asked him what ailed him, and he burst out into a flood of abuse. He + called me a Wizard, a Sham, a Fraud, a Bringer of bad luck! I had promised + to kill the elephants, and I had so arranged things that the elephants had + nearly killed him, etc. + </p> + <p> + “This, still smarting, or rather aching, as I was from that most terrific + bump, was too much for my feelings, so I just made a rush at my friend, + and getting him by the ear, I banged his head against the doorway of his + own hut, which was all that was left of it. + </p> + <p> + “‘You wicked old scoundrel,’ I said, ‘you dare to complain about your own + trifling inconveniences, when you gave me a rotten beam to sit on, and + thereby delivered me to the fury of the elephant’ (<i>bump! bump! bump!</i>), + ‘when your own wife’ (<i>bump!</i>) ‘has just been dragged out of her hut’ + (<i>bump!</i>) ‘like a snail from its shell, and thrown by the + Earth-shaker into a tree’ (<i>bump! bump!</i>). + </p> + <p> + “‘Mercy, my father, mercy!’ gasped the old fellow. ‘Truly I have done + amiss—my heart tells me so.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘I should hope it did, you old villain’ (<i>bump!</i>). + </p> + <p> + “‘Mercy, great white man! I thought the log was sound. But what says the + unequalled chief—is the old woman, my wife, indeed dead? Ah, if she + is dead all may yet prove to have been for the very best;’ and he clasped + his hands and looked up piously to heaven, in which the moon was once more + shining brightly. + </p> + <p> + “I let go his ear and burst out laughing, the whole scene and his devout + aspirations for the decease of the partner of his joys, or rather woes, + were so intensely ridiculous. + </p> + <p> + “‘No, you old iniquity,’ I answered; ‘I left her in the top of a + thorn-tree, screaming like a thousand bluejays. The elephant put her + there.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Alas! alas!’ he said, ‘surely the back of the ox is shaped to the + burden. Doubtless, my father, she will come down when she is tired;’ and + without troubling himself further about the matter, he began to blow at + the smouldering embers of the fire. + </p> + <p> + “And, as a matter of fact, she did appear a few minutes later, + considerably scratched and startled, but none the worse. + </p> + <p> + “After that I made my way to my little camp, which, fortunately, the + elephants had not walked over, and wrapping myself up in a blanket, was + soon fast asleep. + </p> + <p> + “And so ended my first round with those three elephants.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV—THE LAST ROUND + </h2> + <p> + “On the morrow I woke up full of painful recollections, and not without a + certain feeling of gratitude to the Powers above that I was there to wake + up. Yesterday had been a tempestuous day; indeed, what between buffalo, + rhinoceros, and elephant, it had been very tempestuous. Having realized + this fact, I next bethought me of those magnificent tusks, and instantly, + early as it was, broke the tenth commandment. I coveted my neighbours + tusks, if an elephant could be said to be my neighbour <i>de jure</i>, as + certainly, so recently as the previous night, he had been <i>de facto</i>—a + much closer neighbour than I cared for, indeed. Now when you covet your + neighbour’s goods, the best thing, if not the most moral thing, to do is + to enter his house as a strong man armed, and take them. I was not a + strong man, but having recovered my eight-bore I was armed, and so was the + other strong man—the elephant with the tusks. Consequently I + prepared for a struggle to the death. In other words, I summoned my + faithful retainers, and told them that I was now going to follow those + elephants to the edge of the world, if necessary. They showed a certain + bashfulness about the business, but they did not gainsay me, because they + dared not. Ever since I had prepared with all due solemnity to execute the + rebellious Gobo they had conceived a great respect for me. + </p> + <p> + “So I went up to bid adieu to the old head man, whom I found alternately + contemplating the ruins of his kraal and, with the able assistance of his + last wife, thrashing the jealous lady who had slept in the mealie hut, + because she was, as he declared, the fount of all his sorrows. + </p> + <p> + “Leaving them to work a way through their domestic differences, I levied a + supply of vegetable food from the kraal in consideration of services + rendered, and left them with my blessing. I do not know how they settled + matters, because I have not seen them since. + </p> + <p> + “Then I started on the spoor of the three bulls. For a couple of miles or + so below the kraal—as far, indeed, as the belt of swamp that borders + the river—the ground is at this spot rather stony, and clothed with + scattered bushes. Rain had fallen towards the daybreak, and this fact, + together with the nature of the soil, made spooring a very difficult + business. The wounded bull had indeed bled freely, but the rain had washed + the blood off the leaves and grass, and the ground being so rough and hard + did not take the footmarks so clearly as was convenient. However, we got + along, though slowly, partly by the spoor, and partly by carefully lifting + leaves and blades of grass, and finding blood underneath them, for the + blood gushing from a wounded animal often falls upon their inner surfaces, + and then, of course, unless the rain is very heavy, it is not washed away. + It took us something over an hour and a half to reach the edge of the + marsh, but once there our task became much easier, for the soft soil + showed plentiful evidences of the great brutes’ passage. Threading our way + through the swampy land, we came at last to a ford of the river, and here + we could see where the poor wounded animal had lain down in the mud and + water in the hope of easing himself of his pain, and could see also how + his two faithful companions had assisted him to rise again. We crossed the + ford, and took up the spoor on the further side, and followed it into the + marsh-like land beyond. No rain had fallen on this side of the river, and + the blood-marks were consequently much more frequent. + </p> + <p> + “All that day we followed the three bulls, now across open plains, and now + through patches of bush. They seemed to have travelled on almost without + stopping, and I noticed that as they went the wounded bull recovered his + strength a little. This I could see from his spoor, which had become + firmer, and also from the fact that the other two had ceased to support + him. At last evening closed in, and having travelled some eighteen miles, + we camped, thoroughly tired out. + </p> + <p> + “Before dawn on the following day we were up, and the first break of light + found us once more on the spoor. About half-past five o’clock we reached + the place where the elephants had fed and slept. The two unwounded bulls + had taken their fill, as the condition of the neighbouring bushes showed, + but the wounded one had eaten nothing. He had spent the night leaning + against a good-sized tree, which his weight had pushed out of the + perpendicular. They had not long left this place, and could not be very + far ahead, especially as the wounded bull was now again so stiff after his + night’s rest that for the first few miles the other two had been obliged + to support him. But elephants go very quick, even when they seem to be + travelling slowly, for shrub and creepers that almost stop a man’s + progress are no hindrance to them. The three had now turned to the left, + and were travelling back again in a semicircular line toward the + mountains, probably with the idea of working round to their old feeding + grounds on the further side of the river. + </p> + <p> + “There was nothing for it but to follow their lead, and accordingly we + followed with industry. Through all that long hot day did we tramp, + passing quantities of every sort of game, and even coming across the spoor + of other elephants. But, in spite of my men’s entreaties, I would not turn + aside after these. I would have those mighty tusks or none. + </p> + <p> + “By evening we were quite close to our game, probably within a quarter of + a mile, but the bush was dense, and we could see nothing of them, so once + more we must camp, thoroughly disgusted with our luck. That night, just + after the moon rose, while I was sitting smoking my pipe with my back + against a tree, I heard an elephant trumpet, as though something had + startled it, and not three hundred yards away. I was very tired, but my + curiosity overcame my weariness, so, without saying a word to any of the + men, all of whom were asleep, I took my eight-bore and a few spare + cartridges, and steered toward the sound. The game path which we had been + following all day ran straight on in the direction from which the elephant + had trumpeted. It was narrow, but well trodden, and the light struck down + upon it in a straight white line. I crept along it cautiously for some two + hundred yards, when it opened suddenly into a most beautiful glade some + hundred yards or more in width, wherein tall grass grew and flat-topped + trees stood singly. With the caution born of long experience I watched for + a few moments before I entered the glade, and then I saw why the elephant + had trumpeted. There in the middle of the glade stood a large maned lion. + He stood quite still, making a soft purring noise, and waving his tail to + and fro. Presently the grass about forty yards on the hither side of him + gave a wide ripple, and a lioness sprang out of it like a flash, and + bounded noiselessly up to the lion. Reaching him, the great cat halted + suddenly, and rubbed her head against his shoulder. Then they both began + to purr loudly, so loudly that I believe that in the stillness one might + have heard them two hundred yards or more away. + </p> + <p> + “After a time, while I was still hesitating what to do, either they got a + whiff of my wind, or they wearied of standing still, and determined to + start in search of game. At any rate, as though moved by a common impulse, + they bounded suddenly away, leap by leap, and vanished in the depths of + the forest to the left. I waited for a little while longer to see if there + were any more yellow skins about, and seeing none, came to the conclusion + that the lions must have frightened the elephants away, and that I had + taken my stroll for nothing. But just as I was turning back I thought that + I heard a bough break upon the further side of the glade, and, rash as the + act was, I followed the sound. I crossed the glade as silently as my own + shadow. On its further side the path went on. Albeit with many fears, I + went on too. The jungle growth was so thick here that it almost met + overhead, leaving so small a passage for the light that I could scarcely + see to grope my way along. Presently, however, it widened, and then opened + into a second glade slightly smaller than the first, and there, on the + further side of it, about eighty yards from me, stood the three enormous + elephants. + </p> + <p> + “They stood thus:—Immediately opposite and facing me was the wounded + one-tusked bull. He was leaning his bulk against a dead thorn-tree, the + only one in the place, and looked very sick indeed. Near him stood the + second bull as though keeping a watch over him. The third elephant was a + good deal nearer to me and broadside on. While I was still staring at + them, this elephant suddenly walked off and vanished down a path in the + bush to the right. + </p> + <p> + “There are now two things to be done—either I could go back to the + camp and advance upon the elephants at dawn, or I could attack them at + once. The first was, of course, by far the wiser and safer course. To + engage one elephant by moonlight and single-handed is a sufficiently rash + proceeding; to tackle three was little short of lunacy. But, on the other + hand, I knew that they would be on the march again before daylight, and + there might come another day of weary trudging before I could catch them + up, or they might escape me altogether. + </p> + <p> + “‘No,’ I thought to myself, ‘faint heart never won fair tusk. I’ll risk + it, and have a slap at them. But how?’ I could not advance across the + open, for they would see me; clearly the only thing to do was to creep + round in the shadow of the bush and try to come upon them so. So I + started. Seven or eight minutes of careful stalking brought me to the + mouth of the path down which the third elephant had walked. The other two + were now about fifty yards from me, and the nature of the wall of bush was + such that I could not see how to get nearer to them without being + discovered. I hesitated, and peeped down the path which the elephant had + followed. About five yards in, it took a turn round a shrub. I thought + that I would just have a look behind it, and advanced, expecting that I + should be able to catch a sight of the elephant’s tail. As it happened, + however, I met his trunk coming round the corner. It is very disconcerting + to see an elephant’s trunk when you expect to see his tail, and for a + moment I stood paralyzed almost under the vast brute’s head, for he was + not five yards from me. He too halted, threw up his trunk and trumpeted + preparatory to a charge. I was in for it now, for I could not escape + either to the right or left, on account of the bush, and I did not dare + turn my back. So I did the only thing that I could do—raised the + rifle and fired at the black mass of his chest. It was too dark for me to + pick a shot; I could only brown him, as it were. + </p> + <p> + “The shot rung out like thunder on the quiet air, and the elephant + answered it with a scream, then dropped his trunk and stood for a second + or two as still as though he had been cut in stone. I confess that I lost + my head; I ought to have fired my second barrel, but I did not. Instead of + doing so, I rapidly opened my rifle, pulled out the old cartridge from the + right barrel and replaced it. But before I could snap the breech to, the + bull was at me. I saw his great trunk fly up like a brown beam, and I + waited no longer. Turning, I fled for dear life, and after me thundered + the elephant. Right into the open glade I ran, and then, thank Heaven, + just as he was coming up with me the bullet took effect on him. He had + been shot right through the heart, or lungs, and down he fell with a + crash, stone dead. + </p> + <p> + “But in escaping from Scylla I had run into the jaws of Charybdis. I heard + the elephant fall, and glanced round. Straight in front of me, and not + fifteen paces away, were the other two bulls. They were staring about, and + at that moment they caught sight of me. Then they came, the pair of them—came + like thunderbolts, and from different angles. I had only time to snap my + rifle to, lift it, and fire, almost at haphazard, at the head of the + nearest, the unwounded bull. + </p> + <p> + “Now, as you know, in the case of the African elephant, whose skull is + convex, and not concave like that of the Indian, this is always a most + risky and very frequently a perfectly useless shot. The bullet loses + itself in the masses of bone, that is all. But there is one little vital + place, and should the bullet happen to strike there, it will follow the + channel of the nostrils—at least I suppose it is that of the + nostrils—and reach the brain. And this was what happened in the + present case—the ball struck the fatal spot in the region of the eye + and travelled to the brain. Down came the great bull all of a heap, and + rolled on to his side as dead as a stone. I swung round at that instant to + face the third, the monster bull with one tusk that I had wounded two days + before. He was already almost over me, and in the dim moonlight seemed to + tower above me like a house. I lifted the rifle and pulled at his neck. It + would not go off! Then, in a flash, as it were, I remembered that it was + on the half-cock. The lock of this barrel was a little weak, and a few + days before, in firing at a cow eland, the left barrel had jarred off at + the shock of the discharge of the right, knocking me backwards with the + recoil; so after that I had kept it on the half-cock till I actually + wanted to fire it. + </p> + <p> + “I gave one desperate bound to the right, and, my lame leg + notwithstanding, I believe that few men could have made a better jump. At + any rate, it was none too soon, for as I jumped I felt the wind made by + the tremendous downward stroke of the monster’s trunk. Then I ran for it. + </p> + <p> + “I ran like a buck, still keeping hold of my gun, however. My idea, so far + as I could be said to have any fixed idea, was to bolt down the pathway up + which I had come, like a rabbit down a burrow, trusting that he would lose + sight of me in the uncertain light. I sped across the glade. Fortunately + the bull, being wounded, could not go full speed; but wounded or no, he + could go quite as fast as I could. I was unable to gain an inch, and away + we went, with just about three feet between our separate extremities. We + were at the other side now, and a glance served to show me that I had + miscalculated and overshot the opening. To reach it now was hopeless; I + should have blundered straight into the elephant. So I did the only thing + I could do: I swerved like a course hare, and started off round the edge + of the glade, seeking for some opening into which I could plunge. This + gave me a moment’s start, for the bull could not turn as quickly as I + could, and I made the most of it. But no opening could I see; the bush was + like a wall. We were speeding round the edge of the glade, and the + elephant was coming up again. Now he was within about six feet, and now, + as he trumpeted or rather screamed, I could feel the fierce hot blast of + his breath strike upon my head. Heavens! how it frightened me! + </p> + <p> + “We were three parts round the glade now, and about fifty yards ahead was + the single large dead thorn-tree against which the bull had been leaning. + I spurted for it; it was my last chance of safety. But spurt as I would, + it seemed hours before I got there. Putting out my right hand, I swung + round the tree, thus bringing myself face to face with the elephant. I had + not time to lift the rifle to fire, I had barely time to cock it, and run + sideways and backward, when he was on to me. Crash! he came, striking the + tree full with his forehead. It snapped like a carrot about forty inches + from the ground. Fortunately I was clear of the trunk, but one of the dead + branches struck me on the chest as it went down and swept me to the + ground. I fell upon my back, and the elephant blundered past me as I lay. + More by instinct than anything else I lifted the rifle with one hand and + pulled the trigger. It exploded, and, as I discovered afterwards, the + bullet struck him in the ribs. But the recoil of the heavy rifle held thus + was very severe; it bent my arm up, and sent the butt with a thud against + the top of my shoulder and the side of my neck, for the moment quite + paralyzing me, and causing the weapon to jump from my grasp. Meanwhile the + bull was rushing on. He travelled for some twenty paces, and then suddenly + he stopped. Faintly I reflected that he was coming back to finish me, but + even the prospect of imminent and dreadful death could not rouse me into + action. I was utterly spent; I could not move. + </p> + <p> + “Idly, almost indifferently, I watched his movements. For a moment he + stood still, next he trumpeted till the welkin rang, and then very slowly, + and with great dignity, he knelt down. At this point I swooned away. + </p> + <p> + “When I came to myself again I saw from the moon that I must have been + insensible for quite two hours. I was drenched with dew, and shivering all + over. At first I could not think where I was, when, on lifting my head, I + saw the outline of the one-tusked bull still kneeling some five-and-twenty + paces from me. Then I remembered. Slowly I raised myself, and was + instantly taken with a violent sickness, the result of over-exertion, + after which I very nearly fainted a second time. Presently I grew better, + and considered the position. Two of the elephants were, as I knew, dead; + but how about No. 3? There he knelt in majesty in the lonely moonlight. + The question was, was he resting, or dead? I rose on my hands and knees, + loaded my rifle, and painfully crept a few paces nearer. I could see his + eye now, for the moonlight fell full upon it—it was open, and rather + prominent. I crouched and watched; the eyelid did not move, nor did the + great brown body, or the trunk, or the ear, or the tail—nothing + moved. Then I knew that he must be dead. + </p> + <p> + “I crept up to him, still keeping the rifle well forward, and gave him a + thump, reflecting as I did so how very near I had been to being thumped + instead of thumping. He never stirred; certainly he was dead, though to + this day I do not know if it was my random shot that killed him, or if he + died from concussion of the brain consequent upon the tremendous shock of + his contact with the tree. Anyhow, there he was. Cold and beautiful he + lay, or rather knelt, as the poet nearly puts it. Indeed, I do not think + that I have ever seen a sight more imposing in its way than that of the + mighty beast crouched in majestic death, and shone upon by the lonely + moon. + </p> + <p> + “While I stood admiring the scene, and heartily congratulating myself upon + my escape, once more I began to feel sick. Accordingly, without waiting to + examine the other two bulls, I staggered back to the camp, which in due + course I reached in safety. Everybody in it was asleep. I did not wake + them, but having swallowed a mouthful of brandy I threw off my coat and + shoes, rolled myself up in a blanket, and was soon fast asleep. + </p> + <p> + “When I woke it was already light, and at first I thought that, like + Joseph, I had dreamed a dream. At that moment, however, I turned my head, + and quickly knew that it was no dream, for my neck and face were so stiff + from the blow of the butt-end of the rifle that it was agony to move them. + I collapsed for a minute or two. Gobo and another man, wrapped up like a + couple of monks in their blankets, thinking that I was still asleep, were + crouched over a little fire they had made, for the morning was damp and + chilly, and holding sweet converse. + </p> + <p> + “Gobo said that he was getting tired of running after elephants which they + never caught. Macumazahn (that is, myself) was without doubt a man of + parts, and of some skill in shooting, but also he was a fool. None but a + fool would run so fast and far after elephants which it was impossible to + catch, when they kept cutting the spoor of fresh ones. He certainly was a + fool, but he must not be allowed to continue in his folly; and he, Gobo, + had determined to put a stop to it. He should refuse to accompany him any + further on so mad a hunt. + </p> + <p> + “‘Yes,’ the other answered, ‘the poor man certainly was sick in his head, + and it was quite time that they checked his folly while they still had a + patch of skin left upon their feet. Moreover, he for his part certainly + did not like this country of Wambe’s, which really was full of ghosts. + Only the last night he had heard the spooks at work—they were out + shooting, at least it sounded as though they were. It was very queer, but + perhaps their lunatic of a master——’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Gobo, you scoundrel!’ I shouted out at this juncture, sitting bolt + upright on the blankets, ‘stop idling there and make me some coffee.’ + </p> + <p> + “Up sprang Gobo and his friend, and in half a moment were respectfully + skipping about in a manner that contrasted well with the lordly contempt + of their previous conversation. But all the time they were in earnest in + what they said about hunting the elephants any further, for before I had + finished my coffee they came to me in a body, and said that if I wanted to + follow those elephants I must follow them myself, for they would not go. + </p> + <p> + “I argued with them, and affected to be much put out. The elephants were + close at hand, I said; I was sure of it; I had heard them trumpet in the + night. + </p> + <p> + “‘Yes,’ answered the men mysteriously, ‘they too had heard things in the + night, things not nice to hear; they had heard the spooks out shooting, + and no longer would they remain in a country so vilely haunted.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘It was nonsense,’ I replied. ‘If ghosts went out shooting, surely they + would use air-guns and not black powder, and one would not hear an + air-gun. Well, if they were cowards, and would not come, of course I could + not force them to, but I would make a bargain with them. They should + follow those elephants for one half-hour more, then if we failed to come + upon them I would abandon the pursuit, and we would go straight to Wambe, + chief of the Matuku, and give him hongo.’ + </p> + <p> + “To this compromise the men agreed readily. Accordingly about half-an-hour + later we struck our camp and started, and notwithstanding my aches and + bruises, I do not think that I ever felt in better spirits in my life. It + is something to wake up in the morning and remember that in the dead of + the night, single-handed, one has given battle to and overthrown three of + the largest elephants in Africa, slaying them with three bullets. Such a + feat to my knowledge had never been done before, and on that particular + morning I felt a very ‘tall man of my hands’ indeed. The only thing I + feared was, that should I ever come to tell the story nobody would believe + it, for when a strange tale is told by a hunter, people are apt to think + it is necessarily a lie, instead of being only probably so.[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] For the satisfaction of any who may be so disbelieving + as to take this view of Mr. Quatermain’s story, the Editor + may state that a gentleman with whom he is acquainted, and + whose veracity he believes to be beyond doubt, not long ago + described to him how he chanced to kill <i>four</i> African + elephants with four consecutive bullets. Two of these + elephants were charging him simultaneously, and out of the + four three were killed with the head shot, a very uncommon + thing in the case of the African elephant.—Editor. +</pre> + <p> + “Well, we passed on till, having crossed the first glade where I had seen + the lions, we reached the neck of bush that separated it from the second + glade, where the dead elephants were. And here I began to take elaborate + precautions, amongst others ordering Gobo to keep some yards ahead and + look out sharp, as I thought that the elephants might be about. He obeyed + my instructions with a superior smile, and pushed ahead. Presently I saw + him pull up as though he had been shot, and begin to snap his fingers + faintly. + </p> + <p> + “‘What is it?’ I whispered. + </p> + <p> + “‘The elephant, the great elephant with one tusk kneeling down.’ + </p> + <p> + “I crept up beside him. There knelt the bull as I had left him last night, + and there too lay the other bulls. + </p> + <p> + “‘Do these elephants sleep?’ I whispered to the astonished Gobo. + </p> + <p> + “‘Yes, Macumazahn, they sleep.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Nay, Gobo, they are dead.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Dead? How can they be dead? Who killed them?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘What do people call me, Gobo?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘They call you Macumazahn.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘And what does Macumazahn mean?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘It means the man who keeps his eyes open, the man who gets up in the + night.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Yes, Gobo, and I am that man. Look, you idle, lazy cowards; while you + slept last night I rose, and alone I hunted those great elephants, and + slew them by the moonlight. To each of them I gave one bullet and only + one, and it fell dead. Look,’ and I advanced into the glade, ‘here is my + spoor, and here is the spoor of the great bull charging after me, and + there is the tree that I took refuge behind; see, the elephant shattered + it in his charge. Oh, you cowards, you who would give up the chase while + the blood spoor steamed beneath your nostrils, see what I did + single-handed while you slept, and be ashamed.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘<i>Ou!</i>’ said the men, ‘<i>ou!</i> Koos! Koos y umcool!’ (Chief, + great Chief!) And then they held their tongues, and going up to the three + dead beasts, gazed upon them in silence. + </p> + <p> + “But after that those men looked upon me with awe as being almost more + than mortal. No mere man, they said, could have slain those three + elephants alone in the night-time. I never had any further trouble with + them. I believe that if I had told them to jump over a precipice and that + they would take no harm, they would have believed me. + </p> + <p> + “Well, I went up and examined the bulls. Such tusks as they had I never + saw and never shall see again. It took us all day to cut them out; and + when they reached Delagoa Bay, as they did ultimately, though not in my + keeping, the single tusk of the big bull scaled one hundred and sixty + pounds, and the four other tusks averaged ninety-nine and a half pounds—a + most wonderful, indeed an almost unprecedented, lot of ivory.[*] + Unfortunately I was forced to saw the big tusk in two, otherwise we could + not have carried it.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] The largest elephant tusk of which the Editor has any + certain knowledge scaled one hundred and fifty pounds. +</pre> + <p> + “Oh, Quatermain, you barbarian!” I broke in here, “the idea of spoiling + such a tusk! Why, I would have kept it whole if I had been obliged to drag + it myself.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh yes, young man,” he answered, “it is all very well for you to talk + like that, but if you had found yourself in the position which it was my + privilege to occupy a few hours afterwards, it is my belief that you would + have thrown the tusks away altogether and taken to your heels.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh,” said Good, “so that isn’t the end of the yarn? A very good yarn, + Quatermain, by the way—I couldn’t have made up a better one myself.” + </p> + <p> + The old gentleman looked at Good severely, for it irritated him to be + chaffed about his stories. + </p> + <p> + “I don’t know what you mean, Good. I don’t see that there is any + comparison between a true story of adventure and the preposterous tales + which you invent about ibex hanging by their horns. No, it is not the end + of the story; the most exciting part is to come. But I have talked enough + for to-night; and if you go on in that way, Good, it will be some time + before I begin again.” + </p> + <p> + “Sorry I spoke, I’m sure,” said Good, humbly. “Let’s have a split to show + that there is no ill-feeling.” And they did. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V—THE MESSAGE OF MAIWA + </h2> + <p> + On the following evening we once more dined together, and Quatermain, + after some pressure, was persuaded to continue his story—for Good’s + remark still rankled in his breast. + </p> + <p> + “At last,” he went on, “a few minutes before sunset, the task was + finished. We had laboured at it all day, stopping only once for dinner, + for it is no easy matter to hew out five such tusks as those which now lay + before me in a white and gleaming line. It was a dinner worth eating, too, + I can tell you, for we dined off the heart of the great one-tusked bull, + which was so big that the man whom I sent inside the elephant to look for + his heart was forced to remove it in two pieces. We cut it into slices and + fried it with fat, and I never tasted heart to equal it, for the meat + seemed to melt in one’s mouth. By the way, I examined the jaw of the + elephant; it never grew but one tusk; the other had not been broken off, + nor was it present in a rudimentary form. + </p> + <p> + “Well, there lay the five beauties, or rather four of them, for Gobo and + another man were engaged in sawing the grand one in two. At last with many + sighs I ordered them to do this, but not until by practical experiment I + had proved that it was impossible to carry it in any other way. One + hundred and sixty pounds of solid ivory, or rather more in its green + state, is too great a weight for two men to bear for long across a broken + country. I sat watching the job and smoking the pipe of contentment, when + suddenly the bush opened, and a very handsome and dignified native girl, + apparently about twenty years of age, stood before me, carrying a basket + of green mealies upon her head. + </p> + <p> + “Although I was rather surprised to see a native girl in such a wild spot, + and, so far as I knew, a long way from any kraal, the matter did not + attract my particular notice; I merely called to one of the men, and told + him to bargain with the woman for the mealies, and ask her if there were + any more to be bought in the neighbourhood. Then I turned my head and + continued to superintend the cutting of the tusk. Presently a shadow fell + upon me. I looked up, and saw that the girl was standing before me, the + basket of mealies still on her head. + </p> + <p> + “‘Marême, Marême,’ she said, gently clapping her hands together. The word + Marême among these Matuku (though she was no Matuku) answers to the Zulu + ‘Koos,’ and the clapping of hands is a form of salutation very common + among the tribes of the Basutu race. + </p> + <p> + “‘What is it, girl?’ I asked her in Sisutu. ‘Are those mealies for sale?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘No, great white hunter,’ she answered in Zulu, ‘I bring them as a gift.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Good,’ I replied; ‘set them down.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘A gift for a gift, white man.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Ah,’ I grumbled, ‘the old story—nothing for nothing in this wicked + world. What do you want—beads?’ + </p> + <p> + “She nodded, and I was about to tell one of the men to go and fetch some + from one of the packs, when she checked me. + </p> + <p> + “‘A gift from the giver’s own hand is twice a gift,’ she said, and I + thought that she spoke meaningly. + </p> + <p> + “‘You mean that you want me to give them to you myself?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Surely.’ + </p> + <p> + “I rose to go with her. ‘How is it that, being of the Matuku, you speak in + the Zulu tongue?’ I asked suspiciously. + </p> + <p> + “‘I am not of the Matuku,’ she answered as soon as we were out of hearing + of the men. ‘I am of the people of Nala, whose tribe is the Butiana tribe, + and who lives there,’ and she pointed over the mountain. ‘Also I am one of + the wives of Wambe,’ and her eyes flashed as she said the name. + </p> + <p> + “‘And how did you come here?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘On my feet,’ she answered laconically. + </p> + <p> + “We reached the packs, and undoing one of them, I extracted a handful of + beads. ‘Now,’ I said, ‘a gift for a gift. Hand over the mealies.’ + </p> + <p> + “She took the beads without even looking at them, which struck me as + curious, and setting the basket of mealies on the ground, emptied it. + </p> + <p> + “At the bottom of the basket were some curiously-shaped green leaves, + rather like the leaves of the gutta-percha tree in shape, only somewhat + thicker and of a more fleshy substance. As though by hazard, the girl + picked one of these leaves out of the basket and smelt it. Then she handed + it to me. I took the leaf, and supposing that she wished me to smell it + also, was about to oblige her by doing so, when my eye fell upon some + curious red scratches on the green surface of the leaf. + </p> + <p> + “‘Ah,’ said the girl (whose name, by the way, was Maiwa), speaking beneath + her breath, ‘read the signs, white man.’ + </p> + <p> + “Without answering her I continued to stare at the leaf. It had been + scratched or rather written upon with a sharp tool, such as a nail, and + wherever this instrument had touched it, the acid juice oozing through the + outer skin had turned a rusty blood colour. Presently I found the + beginning of the scrawl, and read this in English, and covering the + surface of the leaf and of two others that were in the basket. + </p> + <p> + “‘I hear that a white man is hunting in the Matuku country. This is to + warn him to fly over the mountain to Nala. Wambe sends an impi at daybreak + to eat him up, because he has hunted before bringing hongo. For God’s + sake, whoever you are, try to help me. I have been the slave of this devil + Wambe for nearly seven years, and am beaten and tortured continually. He + murdered all the rest of us, but kept me because I could work iron. Maiwa, + his wife, takes this; she is flying to Nala her father because Wambe + killed her child. Try to get Nala to attack Wambe; Maiwa can guide them + over the mountain. You won’t come for nothing, for the stockade of Wambe’s + private kraal is made of elephants’ tusks. For God’s sake, don’t desert + me, or I shall kill myself. I can bear this no longer. + </p> + <p> + “‘John Every.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Great heavens!’ I gasped. ‘Every!—why, it must be my old friend.’ + The girl, or rather the woman Maiwa, pointed to the other side of the + leaf, where there was more writing. It ran thus—‘I have just heard + that the white man is called Macumazahn. If so, it must be my friend + Quatermain. Pray Heaven it is, for I know he won’t desert an old chum in + such a fix as I am. It isn’t that I’m afraid of dying, I don’t care if I + die, but I want to get a chance at Wambe first.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘No, old boy,’ thought I to myself, ‘it isn’t likely that I am going to + leave you there while there is a chance of getting you out. I have played + fox before now—there’s still a double or two left in me. I must make + a plan, that’s all. And then there’s that stockade of tusks. I am not + going to leave that either.’ Then I spoke to the woman. + </p> + <p> + “‘You are called Maiwa?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘It is so.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘You are the daughter of Nala and the wife of Wambe?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘It is so.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘You fly from Wambe to Nala?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘I do.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Why do you fly? Stay, I would give an order,’—and calling to Gobo, + I ordered him to get the men ready for instant departure. The woman, who, + as I have said, was quite young and very handsome, put her hand into a + little pouch made of antelope hide which she wore fastened round the + waist, and to my horror drew from it the withered hand of a child, which + evidently had been carefully dried in the smoke. + </p> + <p> + “‘I fly for this cause,’ she answered, holding the poor little hand + towards me. ‘See now, I bore a child. Wambe was its father, and for + eighteen months the child lived and I loved it. But Wambe loves not his + children; he kills them all. He fears lest they should grow up to slay one + so wicked, and he would have killed this child also, but I begged its + life. One day, some soldiers passing the hut saw the child and saluted + him, calling him the “chief who soon shall be.” Wambe heard, and was mad. + He smote the babe, and it wept. Then he said that it should weep for good + cause. Among the things that he had stolen from the white men whom he slew + is a trap that will hold lions. So strong is the trap that four men must + stand on it, two on either side, before it can be opened.’” + </p> + <p> + Here old Quatermain broke off suddenly. + </p> + <p> + “Look here, you fellows,” he said, “I can’t bear to go on with this part + of the story, because I never could stand either seeing or talking of the + sufferings of children. You can guess what that devil did, and what the + poor mother was forced to witness. Would you believe it, she told me the + tale without a tremor, in the most matter-of-fact way. Only I noticed that + her eyelid quivered all the time. + </p> + <p> + “‘Well,’ I said, as unconcernedly as though I had been talking of the + death of a lamb, though inwardly I was sick with horror and boiling with + rage, ‘and what do you mean to do about the matter, Maiwa, wife of Wambe?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘I mean to do this, white man,’ she answered, drawing herself up to her + full height, and speaking in tones as hard as steel and cold as ice—‘I + mean to work, and work, and work, to bring this to pass, and to bring that + to pass, until at length it comes to pass that with these living eyes I + behold Wambe dying the death that he gave to his child and my child.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Well said,’ I answered. + </p> + <p> + “‘Ay, well said, Macumazahn, well said, and not easily forgotten. Who + could forget, oh, who could forget? See where this dead hand rests against + my side; so once it rested when alive. And now, though it is dead, now + every night it creeps from its nest and strokes my hair and clasps my + fingers in its tiny palm. Every night it does this, fearing lest I should + forget. Oh, my child! my child! ten days ago I held thee to my breast, and + now this alone remains of thee,’ and she kissed the dead hand and + shivered, but never a tear did she weep. + </p> + <p> + “‘See now,’ she went on, ‘the white man, the prisoner at Wambe’s kraal, he + was kind to me. He loved the child that is dead, yes, he wept when its + father slew it, and at the risk of his life told Wambe, my husband—ah, + yes, my husband!—that which he is! He too it was who made a plan. He + said to me, “Go, Maiwa, after the custom of thy people, go purify thyself + in the bush alone, having touched a dead one. Say to Wambe thou goest to + purify thyself alone for fifteen days, according to the custom of thy + people. Then fly to thy father, Nala, and stir him up to war against Wambe + for the sake of the child that is dead.” This then he said, and his words + seemed good to me, and that same night ere I left to purify myself came + news that a white man hunted in the country, and Wambe, being mad with + drink, grew very wrath, and gave orders that an impi should be gathered to + slay the white man and his people and seize his goods. Then did the + “Smiter of Iron” (Every) write the message on the green leaves, and bid me + seek thee out, and show forth the matter, that thou mightest save thyself + by flight; and behold, this thing have I done, Macumazahn, the hunter, the + Slayer of Elephants.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Ah,’ I said, ‘I thank you. And how many men be there in the impi of + Wambe?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘A hundred of men and half a hundred.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘And where is the impi?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘There to the north. It follows on thy spoor. I saw it pass yesterday, + but myself I guessed that thou wouldst be nigher to the mountain, and came + this way, and found thee. To-morrow at the daybreak the slayers will be + here.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Very possibly,’ I thought to myself; ‘but they won’t find Macumazahn. I + have half a mind to put some strychnine into the carcases of those + elephants for their especial benefit though.’ I knew that they would stop + to eat the elephants, as indeed they did, to our great gain, but I + abandoned the idea of poisoning them, because I was rather short of + strychnine.” + </p> + <p> + “Or because you did not like to play the trick, Quatermain?” I suggested + with a laugh. + </p> + <p> + “I said because I had not enough strychnine. It would take a great deal of + strychnine to poison three elephants effectually,” answered the old + gentleman testily. + </p> + <p> + I said nothing further, but I smiled, knowing that old Allan could never + have resorted to such an artifice, however severe his strait. But that was + his way; he always made himself out to be a most unmerciful person. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” he went on, “at that moment Gobo came up and announced that we + were ready to march. ‘I am glad that you are ready,’ I said, ‘because if + you don’t march, and march quick, you will never march again, that is all. + Wambe has an impi out to kill us, and it will be here presently.’ + </p> + <p> + “Gobo turned positively green, and his knees knocked together. ‘Ah, what + did I say?’ he exclaimed. ‘Fate walks about loose in Wambe’s country.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Very good; now all you have to do is to walk a little quicker than he + does. No, no, you don’t leave those elephant tusks behind—I am not + going to part with them I can tell you.’ + </p> + <p> + “Gobo said no more, but hastily directed the men to take up their loads, + and then asked which way we were to run. + </p> + <p> + “‘Ah,’ I said to Maiwa, ‘which way?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘There,’ she answered, pointing towards the great mountain spur which + towered up into the sky some forty miles away, separating the territories + of Nala and Wambe—‘there, below that small peak, is one place where + men may pass, and one only. Also it can easily be blocked from above. If + men pass not there, then they must go round the great peak of the + mountain, two days’ journey and half a day.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘And how far is the peak from us?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘All to-night shall you walk and all to-morrow, and if you walk fast, at + sunset you shall stand on the peak.’ + </p> + <p> + “I whistled, for that meant a five-and-forty miles trudge without sleep. + Then I called to the men to take each of them as much cooked elephant’s + meat as he could carry conveniently. I did the same myself, and forced the + woman Maiwa to eat some as we went. This I did with difficulty, for at + that time she seemed neither to sleep nor eat nor rest, so fiercely was + she set on vengeance. + </p> + <p> + “Then we started, Maiwa guiding us. After going for a half-hour over + gradually rising ground, we found ourselves on the further edge of a great + bush-clad depression something like the bottom of a lake. This depression, + through which we had been travelling, was covered with bush to a very + great extent, indeed almost altogether so, except where it was pitted with + glades such as that wherein I had shot the elephants. + </p> + <p> + “At the top of this slope Maiwa halted, and putting her hand over her eyes + looked back. Presently she touched me on the arm and pointed across the + sea of forest towards a comparatively vacant space of country some six or + seven miles away. I looked, and suddenly I saw something flash in the red + rays of the setting sun. A pause, and then another quick flash. + </p> + <p> + “‘What is it?’ I asked. + </p> + <p> + “‘It is the spears of Wambe’s impi, and they travel fast,’ she answered + coolly. + </p> + <p> + “I suppose that my face showed how little I liked the news, for she went + on— + </p> + <p> + “‘Fear not; they will stay to feast upon the elephants, and while they + feast we shall journey. We may yet escape.’ + </p> + <p> + “After that we turned and pushed on again, till at length it grew so dark + that we had to wait for the rising of the moon, which lost us time, though + it gave us rest. Fortunately none of the men had seen that ominous + flashing of the spears; if they had, I doubt if even I could have kept + control of them. As it was, they travelled faster than I had ever known + loaded natives to go before, so thorough-paced was their desire to see the + last of Wambe’s country. I, however, took the precaution to march last of + all, fearing lest they should throw away their loads to lighten + themselves, or, worse still, the tusks; for these kind of fellows would be + capable of throwing anything away if their own skins were at stake. If the + pious Æneas, whose story you were reading to me the other night, had been + a mongrel Delagoa Bay native, Anchises would have had a poor chance of + getting out of Troy, that is, if he was known to have made a satisfactory + will. + </p> + <p> + “At moonrise we set out again, and with short occasional halts travelled + till dawn, when we were forced to rest and eat. Starting once more, about + half-past five, we crossed the river at noon. Then began the long toilsome + ascent through thick bush, the same in which I shot the bull buffalo, only + some twenty miles to the west of that spot, and not more than twenty-five + miles on the hither side of Wambe’s kraal. There were six or seven miles + of this dense bush, and hard work it was to get through it. Next came a + belt of scattered forest which was easier to pass, though, in revenge, the + ground was steeper. This was about two miles wide, and we passed it by + about four in the afternoon. Above this scattered bush lay a long steep + slope of boulder-strewn ground, which ran up to the foot of the little + peak some three miles away. As we emerged, footsore and weary, on to this + inhospitable plain, some of the men looking round caught sight of the + spears of Wambe’s impi advancing rapidly not more than a mile behind us. + </p> + <p> + “At first there was a panic, and the bearers tried to throw off their + loads and run, but I harangued them, calling out to them that certainly I + would shoot the first man who did so and that if they would but trust in + me I would bring them through the mess. Now, ever since I had killed those + three elephants single-handed, I had gained great influence over these + men, and they listened to me. So off we went as hard as ever we could go—the + members of the Alpine Club would not have been in it with us. We made the + boulders burn, as a Frenchman would say. + </p> + <p> + “When we had done about a mile the spears began to emerge from the belt of + scattered bush, and the whoop of their bearers as they viewed us broke + upon our ears. Quick as our pace had been before, it grew much quicker + now, for terror lent wings to my gallant crew. But they were sorely tired, + and the loads were heavy, so that run, or rather climb, as we would, + Wambe’s soldiers, a scrubby-looking lot of men armed with big spears and + small shields, but without plumes, climbed considerably faster. The last + mile of that pleasing chase was like a fox hunt, we being the fox, and + always in view. What astonished me was the extraordinary endurance and + activity shown by Maiwa. She never even flagged. I think that girl’s + muscles must have been made of iron, or perhaps it was the strength of her + will that supported her. At any rate she reached the foot of the peak + second, poor Gobo, who was an excellent hand at running away, being first. + </p> + <p> + “Presently I came up panting, and glanced at the ascent. Before us was a + wall of rock about one hundred and fifty feet in height, upon which the + strata were laid so as to form a series of projections sufficiently + resembling steps to make the ascent easy, comparatively speaking, except + at one spot, where it was necessary to climb over a projecting angle of + cliff and bear a little to the left. It was not a really difficult place, + but what made it awkward was, that immediately beneath this projection + gaped a deep fissure or donga, on the brink of which we now stood, + originally dug out, no doubt, by the rush of water from the peak and + cliff. This gulf beneath would be trying to the nerves of a weak-headed + climber at the critical point, and so it proved in the result. The + projecting angle once passed, the remainder of the ascent was very simple. + At the summit, however, the brow of the cliff hung over and was pierced by + a single narrow path cut through it by water, in such fashion that a + single boulder rolled into it at the top would make the cliff quite + impassable to men without ropes. + </p> + <p> + “At this moment Wambe’s soldiers were about a thousand yards from us, so + it was evident that we had no time to lose. I at once ordered the men to + commence the ascent, the girl Maiwa, who was familiar with the pass, going + first to show them the way. Accordingly they began to mount with alacrity, + pushing and lifting their loads in front of them. When the first of them, + led by Maiwa, reached the projecting angle, they put down their loads upon + a ledge of rock and clambered over. Once there, by lying on their stomachs + upon a boulder, they could reach the loads which were held to them by the + men beneath, and in this way drag them over the awkward place, whence they + were carried easily to the top. + </p> + <p> + “But all of this took time, and meanwhile the soldiers were coming up + fast, screaming and brandishing their big spears. They were now within + about four hundred yards, and several loads, together with all the tusks, + had yet to be got over the rock. I was still standing at the bottom of the + cliff, shouting directions to the men above, but it occurred to me that it + would soon be time to move. Before doing so, however, I thought that it + might be well to try and produce a moral effect upon the advancing enemy. + In my hand I held a Winchester repeating carbine, but the distance was too + great for me to use it with effect, so I turned to Gobo, who was shivering + with terror at my side, and handing him the carbine, took my express from + him. + </p> + <p> + “The enemy was now about three hundred and fifty yards away, and the + express was only sighted to three hundred. Still I knew that it could be + trusted for the extra fifty yards. Running in front of Wambe’s soldiers + were two men—captains, I suppose—one of them very tall. I put + up the three hundred yard flap, and sitting down with my back against the + rock, I drew a long breath to steady myself, and covered the tall man, + giving him a full sight. Feeling that I was on him, I pulled, and before + the sound of the striking bullet could reach my ears, I saw the man throw + up his arms and pitch forward on to his head. His companion stopped dead, + giving me a fair chance. I rapidly covered him, and fired the left barrel. + He turned round once, and then sank down in a heap. This caused the enemy + to hesitate—they had never seen men killed at such a distance + before, and thought that there was something uncanny about the + performance. Taking advantage of the lull, I gave the express back to + Gobo, and slinging the Winchester repeater over my back I began to climb + the cliff. + </p> + <p> + “When we reached the projecting angle all the loads were over, but the + tusks still had to be passed up, and owing to their weight and the + smoothness of their surface, this was a very difficult task. Of course I + ought to have abandoned the tusks; often and often have I since reproached + myself for not doing so. Indeed, I think that my obstinacy about them was + downright sinful, but I was always obstinate about such things, and I + could not bear the idea of leaving those splendid tusks which had cost me + so much pains and danger to come by. Well, it nearly cost me my life also, + and did cost poor Gobo his, as will be seen shortly, to say nothing of the + loss inflicted by my rifle on the enemy. When I reached the projection I + found that the men, with their usual stupidity, were trying to hand up the + tusks point first. Now the result of this was that those above had nothing + to grip except the round polished surface of the ivory, and in the + position in which they were, this did not give them sufficient hold to + enable them to lift the weight. I told them to reverse the tusks and push + them up, so that the rough and hollow ends came to the hands of the men + above. This they did, and the first two were dragged up in safety. + </p> + <p> + “At this point, looking behind me, I saw the Matukus streaming up the + slope in a rough extended order, and not more than a hundred yards away. + Cocking the Winchester I turned and opened fire on them. I don’t quite + know how many I missed, but I do know that I never shot better in my life. + I had to keep shifting myself from one enemy to the other, firing almost + without getting a sight, that is, by the eye alone, after the fashion of + the experts who break glass balls. But quick as the work was, men fell + thick, and by the time that I had emptied the carbine of its twelve + cartridges, for the moment the advance was checked. I rapidly pushed in + some more cartridges, and hardly had I done so when the enemy, seeing that + we were about to escape them altogether, came on once more with a + tremendous yell. By this time the two halves of the single tusk of the + great bull alone remained to be passed up. I fired and fired as + effectively as before, but notwithstanding all that I could do, some men + escaped my hail of bullets and began to ascend the cliff. Presently my + rifle was again empty. I slung it over my back, and, drawing my revolver, + turned to run for it, the attackers being now quite close. As I did so, a + spear struck the cliff close to my head. + </p> + <p> + “The last half of the tusk was now vanishing over the rock, and I sung out + to Gobo and the other man who had been pushing it up to vanish after it. + Gobo, poor fellow, required no second invitation; indeed, his haste was + his undoing. He went at the projecting rock with a bound. The end of the + tusk was still hanging over, and instead of grasping the rock he caught at + it. It twisted in his hand—he slipped—he fell; with one wild + shriek he vanished into the abyss beneath, his falling body brushing me as + it passed. For a moment we stood aghast, and presently the dull thud of + his fall smote heavily upon our ears. Poor fellow, he had met the Fate + which, as he declared, walked about loose in Wambe’s country. Then with an + oath the remaining man sprung at the rock and clambered over it in safety. + Aghast at the awfulness of what had happened, I stood still, till I saw + the great blade of a Matuku spear pass up between my feet. That brought me + to my senses, and I began to clamber up the rock like a cat. I was half + way round it. Already I had clasped the hand of that brave girl Maiwa, who + came down to help me, the men having scrambled forward with the ivory, + when I felt some one seize my ankle. + </p> + <p> + “‘Pull, Maiwa, pull,’ I gasped, and she certainly did pull. Maiwa was a + very muscular woman, and never before did I appreciate the advantages of + the physical development of females so keenly. She tugged at my left arm, + the savage below tugged at my right leg, till I began to realize that + something must give way ere long. Luckily I retained my presence of mind, + like the man who threw his mother-in-law out of the window, and carried + the mattress down-stairs, when a fire broke out in his house. My right + hand was still free, and in it I held my revolver, which was secured to my + wrist by a leather thong. The pistol was cocked, and I simply pointed it + downwards and fired. The result was instantaneous—and so far as I am + concerned, most satisfactory. The bullet hit the man beneath me somewhere, + I am sure I don’t know where; at any rate, he let go of my leg and plunged + headlong into the gulf beneath to join Gobo. In another moment I was on + the top of the rock, and going up the remaining steps like a lamplighter. + A single other soldier appeared in pursuit, but one of my boys at the top + fired my elephant gun at him. I don’t know if he hit him or only + frightened him; at any rate, he vanished whence he came. I do know, + however, that he very nearly hit <i>me</i>, for I felt the wind of the + bullet. + </p> + <p> + “Another thirty seconds, and I and the woman Maiwa were at the top of the + cliff panting, but safe. + </p> + <p> + “My men, being directed thereto by Maiwa, had most fortunately rolled up + some big boulders which lay about, and with these we soon managed to block + the passage through the overhanging ridge of rock in such fashion that the + soldiers below could not possibly climb over it. Indeed, so far as I could + see, they did not even try to do so—their heart was turned to fat, + as the Zulus say. + </p> + <p> + “Then having rested a few moments we took up the loads, including the + tusks of ivory that had cost us so dear, and in silence marched on for a + couple of miles or more, till we reached a patch of dense bush. And here, + being utterly exhausted, we camped for the night, taking the precaution, + however, of setting a guard to watch against any attempt at surprise.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI—THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN + </h2> + <p> + “Notwithstanding all that we had gone through, perhaps indeed on account + of it, for I was thoroughly worn out, I slept that night as soundly as + poor Gobo, round whose crushed body the hyænas would now be prowling. + Rising refreshed at dawn we went on our way towards Nala’s kraal, which we + reached at nightfall. It is built on open ground after the Zulu fashion, + in a ring fence and with beehive huts. The cattle kraal is behind and a + little to the left. Indeed, both from their habits and their talk it was + easy to see that these Butiana belong to that section of the Bantu people + which, since T’Chaka’s time, has been known as the Zulu race. We did not + see the chief Nala that night. His daughter Maiwa went on to his private + huts as soon as we arrived, and very shortly afterwards one of his head + men came to us bringing a sheep and some mealies and milk with him. ‘The + chief sent us greeting,’ he said, ‘and would see us on the morrow.’ + Meanwhile he was ordered to bring us to a place of resting, where we and + our goods should be safe and undisturbed. Accordingly he led the way to + some very good huts just outside Nala’s private enclosure, and here we + slept comfortably. + </p> + <p> + “On the morrow about eight o’clock the head man came again, and said that + Nala requested that I would visit him. I followed him into the private + enclosure and was introduced to the chief, a fine-looking man of about + fifty, with very delicately-shaped hands and feet, and a rather nervous + mouth. The chief was seated on a tanned ox-hide outside his hut. By his + side stood his daughter Maiwa, and squatted on their haunches round him + were some twenty head men or Indunas, whose number was continually added + to by fresh arrivals. These men saluted me as I entered, and the chief + rose and took my hand, ordering a stool to be brought for me to sit on. + When this was done, with much eloquence and native courtesy he thanked me + for protecting his daughter in the painful and dangerous circumstances in + which she found herself placed, and also complimented me very highly upon + what he was pleased to call the bravery with which I had defended the pass + in the rocks. I answered in appropriate terms, saying that it was to Maiwa + herself that thanks were due, for had it not been for her warning and + knowledge of the country we should not have been here to-day; while as to + the defence of the pass, I was fighting for my life, and that put heart + into me. + </p> + <p> + “These courtesies concluded, Nala called upon his daughter Maiwa to tell + her tale to the head men, and this she did most simply and effectively. + She reminded them that she had gone as an unwilling bride to Wambe—that + no cattle had been paid for her, because Wambe had threatened war if she + was not sent as a free gift. Since she had entered the kraal of Wambe her + days had been days of heaviness and her nights nights of weeping. She had + been beaten, she had been neglected and made to do the work of a low-born + wife—she, a chief’s daughter. She had borne a child, and this was + the story of the child. Then amidst a dead silence she told them the awful + tale which she had already narrated to me. When she had finished, her + hearers gave a loud ejaculation. ‘<i>Ou!</i>’ they said, ‘<i>ou!</i> + Maiwa, daughter of Nala!’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Ay,’ she went on with flashing eyes, ‘ay, it is true; my mouth is as + full of truth as a flower of honey, and for tears my eyes are like the dew + upon the grass at dawn. It is true I saw the child die—here is the + proof of it, councillors,’ and she drew forth the little dead hand and + held it before them. + </p> + <p> + “‘<i>Ou!</i>’ they said again, ‘<i>ou!</i> it is the dead hand!’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Yes,’ she continued, ‘it is the dead hand of my dead child, and I bear + it with me that I may never forget, never for one short hour, that I live + that I may see Wambe die, and be avenged. Will you bear it, my father, + that your daughter and your daughter’s child should be so treated by a + Matuku? Will ye bear it, men of my own people?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘No,’ said an old Induna, rising, ‘it is not to be borne. Enough have we + suffered at the hands of these Matuku dogs and their loud-tongued chief; + let us put it to the issue.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘It is not to be borne indeed,’ said Nala; ‘but how can we make head + against so great a people?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Ask of him—ask of Macumazahn, the wise white man,’ said Maiwa, + pointing at me. + </p> + <p> + “‘How can we overcome Wambe, Macumazahn the hunter?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘How does the jackal overreach the lion, Nala?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘By cleverness, Macumazahn.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘So shall you overcome Wambe, Nala.’ + </p> + <p> + “At this moment an interruption occurred. A man entered and said that + messengers had arrived from Wambe. + </p> + <p> + “‘What is their message?’ asked Nala. + </p> + <p> + “‘They come to ask that thy daughter Maiwa be sent back, and with her the + white hunter.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘How shall I make answer to this, Macumazahn?’ said Nala, when the man + had withdrawn. + </p> + <p> + “‘Thus shalt thou answer,’ I said after reflection; ‘say that the woman + shall be sent and I with her, and then bid the messengers be gone. Stay, I + will hide myself here in the hut that the men may not see me,’ and I did. + </p> + <p> + “Shortly afterwards, through a crack in the hut, I saw the messengers + arrive, and they were great truculent-looking fellows. There were four of + them, and evidently they had travelled night and day. They entered with a + swagger and squatted down before Nala. + </p> + <p> + “‘Your business?’ said Nala, frowning. + </p> + <p> + “‘We come from Wambe, bearing the orders of Wambe to Nala his servant,’ + answered the spokesman of the party. + </p> + <p> + “‘Speak,’ said Nala, with a curious twitch of his nervous-looking mouth. + </p> + <p> + “‘These are the words of Wambe: “Send back the woman, my wife, who has run + away from my kraal, and send with her the white man who has dared to hunt + in my country without my leave, and to slay my soldiers.” These are the + words of Wambe.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘And if I say I will not send them?’ asked Nala. + </p> + <p> + “‘Then on behalf of Wambe we declare war upon you. Wambe will eat you up. + He will wipe you out; your kraals shall be stamped flat—so,’ and + with an expressive gesture he drew his hand across his mouth to show how + complete would be the annihilation of that chief who dared to defy Wambe. + </p> + <p> + “‘These are heavy words,’ said Nala. ‘Let me take counsel before I + answer.’ + </p> + <p> + “Then followed a little piece of acting that was really very creditable to + the untutored savage mind. The heralds withdrew, but not out of sight, and + Nala went through the show of earnestly consulting his Indunas. The girl + Maiwa too flung herself at his feet, and appeared to weep and implore his + protection, while he wrung his hands as though in doubt and tribulation of + mind. At length he summoned the messengers to draw near, and addressed + them, while Maiwa sobbed very realistically at his side. + </p> + <p> + “‘Wambe is a great chief,’ said Nala, ‘and this woman is his wife, whom he + has a right to claim. She must return to him, but her feet are sore with + walking, she cannot come now. In eight days from this day she shall be + delivered at the kraal of Wambe; I will send her with a party of my men. + As for the white hunter and his men, I have nought to do with them, and + cannot answer for their misdeeds. They have wandered hither unbidden by + me, and I will deliver them back whence they came, that Wambe may judge + them according to his law; they shall be sent with the girl. For you, go + your ways. Food shall be given you without the kraal, and a present for + Wambe in atonement of the ill-doing of my daughter. I have spoken.’ + </p> + <p> + “At first the heralds seemed inclined to insist upon Maiwa’s accompanying + them then and there, but on being shown the swollen condition of her feet, + ultimately they gave up the point and departed. + </p> + <p> + “When they were well out of the way I emerged from the hut, and we went on + to discuss the situation and make our plans. First of all, as I was + careful to explain to Nala, I was not going to give him my experience and + services for nothing. I heard that Wambe had a stockade round his kraal + made of elephant tusks. These tusks, in the event of our succeeding in the + enterprise, I should claim as my perquisite, with the proviso that Nala + should furnish me with men to carry them down to the coast. + </p> + <p> + “To this modest request Nala and the head men gave an unqualified and + hearty assent, the more hearty perhaps because they never expected to get + the ivory. + </p> + <p> + “The next thing I stipulated was, that if we conquered, the white man John + Every should be handed over to me, together with any goods which he might + claim. His cruel captivity was, I need hardly say, the only reason that + induced me to join in so hair-brained an expedition, but I was careful + from motives of policy to keep this fact in the background. Nala accepted + this condition. My third stipulation was that no women or children should + be killed. This being also agreed to, we went on to consider ways and + means. Wambe, it appeared, was a very powerful petty chief, that is, he + could put at least six thousand fighting men into the field, and always + had from three to four thousand collected about his kraal, which was + supposed to be impregnable. Nala, on the contrary, at such short notice + could not collect more than from twelve to thirteen hundred men, though, + being of the Zulu stock, they were of much better stuff for fighting + purposes than Wambe’s Matukus. + </p> + <p> + “These odds, though large, under the circumstances were not overwhelming. + The real obstacle to our chance of success was the difficulty of + delivering a crushing assault against Wambe’s strong place. This was, it + appeared, fortified all round with schanses or stone walls, and contained + numerous caves and koppies in the hill-side and at the foot of the + mountain which no force had ever been able to capture. It is said that in + the time of the Zulu monarch Dingaan, a great impi of that king’s having + penetrated to this district, had delivered an assault upon the kraal then + owned by a forefather of Wambe’s, and been beaten back with the loss of + more than a thousand men. + </p> + <p> + “Having thought the question over, I interrogated Maiwa closely as to the + fortifications and the topographical peculiarities of the spot, and not + without results. I discovered that the kraal was indeed impregnable to a + front attack, but that it was very slightly defended to the rear, which + ran up a slope of the mountain, indeed only by two lines of stone walls. + The reason of this was that the mountain is quite impassable except by one + secret path supposed to be known only to the chief and his councillors, + and this being so, it had not been considered necessary to fortify it. + </p> + <p> + “‘Well,’ I said, when she had done, ‘and now as to this secret path of + thine—knowest thou aught of it?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Ay,’ she answered, ‘I am no fool, Macumazahn. Knowledge learned is power + earned. I won the secret of that path.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘And canst thou guide an impi thereon so that it shall fall upon the town + from behind?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Yes, I can do this, if only Wambe’s people know not that the impi comes, + for if they know, then they can block the way.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘So then here is my plan. Listen, Nala, and say if it be good, or if thou + hast a better, show it forth. Let messengers go out and summon all thy + impi, that it be gathered here on the third day from now. This being done, + let the impi, led by Maiwa, march on the morrow of the fourth day, and + crossing the mountains let it travel along on the other side of the + mountains till it come to the place on the further side of which is the + kraal of Wambe; that shall be some three days’ journey in all.[*] Then on + the night of the third day’s journey, let Maiwa lead the impi in silence + up the secret path, so that it comes to the crest of the mountain that is + above the strong place, and here let it hide among the rocks. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] About one hundred and twenty miles.—Editor. +</pre> + <p> + “‘Meanwhile on the sixth day from now let one of thy Indunas, Nala, bring + with him two hundred men that have guns, and lead me and my men as + prisoners, and take also a girl from among the Butiana people, who by form + and face is like unto Maiwa, and bind her hands, and pass by the road on + which we came and through the cutting in the cliff on to the kraal of + Wambe. But the men shall take no shields or plumes with them, only their + guns and one short spear, and when they meet the people of Wambe they + shall say that they come to give up the woman and the white man and his + party to Wambe, and to make atonement to Wambe. So shall they pass in + peace. And travelling thus, on the evening of the seventh day we shall + come to the gates of the place of Wambe, and nigh the gates there is, so + says Maiwa, a koppie very strong and full of rocks and caves, but having + no soldiers on it except in time of war, or at the worst but a few such as + can easily be overpowered. + </p> + <p> + “‘This being done, at the dawn of day the impi on the mountain behind the + town must light a fire and put wet grass on it, so that the smoke goes up. + Then at the sight of the smoke we in the koppie will begin to shoot into + the town of Wambe, and all the soldiers will run to kill us. But we will + hold our own, and while we fight the impi shall charge down the mountain + side and climb the schanses, and put those who defend them to the assegai, + and then falling upon the town shall surprise it, and drive the soldiers + of Wambe as a wind blows the dead husks of corn. This is my plan. I have + spoken.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘<i>Ou!</i>’ said Nala, ‘it is good, it is very good. The white man is + cleverer than a jackal. Yes, so shall it be; and may the snake of the + Butiana people stand up upon its tail and prosper the war, for so shall we + be rid of Wambe and the tyrannies of Wambe.’ + </p> + <p> + “After that the girl Maiwa stood up, and once more producing the dreadful + little dried hand, made her father and several of his head councillors + swear by it and upon it that they would carry out the war of vengeance to + the bitter end. It was a very curious sight to see. And by the way, the + fight that ensued was thereafter known among the tribes of that district + as the War of the Little Hand. + </p> + <p> + “The next two days were busy ones for us. Messengers were sent out, and + every available man of the Butiana tribe was ordered up to ‘a great + dance.’ The country was small, and by the evening of the second day, some + twelve hundred and fifty men were assembled with their assegais and + shields, and a fine hardy troop they were. At dawn of the following day, + the fourth from the departure of the heralds, the main impi, having been + doctored in the usual fashion, started under the command of Nala himself, + who, knowing that his life and chieftainship hung upon the issue of the + struggle, wisely determined to be present to direct it. With them went + Maiwa, who was to guide them up the secret path. Of course we were obliged + to give them two days’ start, as they had more than a hundred miles of + rough country to pass, including the crossing of the great mountain range + which ran north and south, for it was necessary that the impi should make + a wide détour in order to escape detection. + </p> + <p> + “At length, however, at dawn on the sixth day, I took the road, + accompanied by my most unwilling bearers, who did not at all like the idea + of thus putting their heads into the lion’s mouth. Indeed, it was only the + fear of Nala’s spears, together with a vague confidence in myself, that + induced them to accept the adventure. With me also were about two hundred + Butianas, all armed with guns of various kinds, for many of these people + had guns, though they were not very proficient in the use of them. But + they carried no shields and wore no head-dress or armlets; indeed, every + warlike appearance was carefully avoided. With our party went also a + sister of Maiwa’s, though by a different mother, who strongly resembled + her in face and form, and whose mission it was to impersonate the runaway + wife. + </p> + <p> + “That evening we camped upon the top of the cliff up which we had so + barely escaped, and next morning at the first breaking of the light we + rolled away the stones with which we had blocked the passage some days + before, and descended to the hill-side beneath. Here the bodies, or rather + the skeletons of the men who had fallen before my rifle, still lay about. + The Matuku soldiers had left their comrades to be buried by the vultures. + I descended the gully into which poor Gobo had fallen, and searched for + his body, but in vain, although I found the spot where he and the other + man had struck, together with the bones of the latter, which I recognized + by the waist-cloth. Either some beast of prey had carried Gobo off, or the + Matuku people had disposed of his remains, and also of my express rifle + which he carried. At any rate, I never saw or heard any more of him. + </p> + <p> + “Once in Wambe’s country, we adopted a very circumspect method of + proceeding. About fifty men marched ahead in loose order to guard against + surprise, while as many more followed behind. The remaining hundred were + gathered in a bunch between, and in the centre of these men I marched, + together with the girl who was personating Maiwa, and all my bearers. We + were disarmed, and some of my men were tied together to show that we were + prisoners, while the girl had a blanket thrown over her head, and moved + along with an air of great dejection. We headed straight for Wambe’s + place, which was at a distance of about twenty-five miles from the + mountain-pass. + </p> + <p> + “When we had gone some five miles we met a party of about fifty of Wambe’s + soldiers, who were evidently on the look-out for us. They stopped us, and + their captain asked where we were going. The head man of our party + answered that he was conveying Maiwa, Wambe’s runaway wife, together with + the white hunter and his men, to be given up to Wambe in accordance with + his command. The captain then wanted to know why we were so many, to which + our spokesman replied that I and my men were very desperate fellows, and + that it was feared that if we were sent with a smaller escort we should + escape, and bring disgrace and the wrath of Wambe upon their tribe. + Thereon this gentleman, the Matuku captain, began to amuse himself at my + expense, and mock me, saying that Wambe would make me pay for the soldiers + whom I had killed. He would put me into the ‘Thing that bites,’ in other + words, the lion trap, and leave me there to die like a jackal caught by + the leg. I made no answer to this, though my wrath was great, but + pretended to look frightened. Indeed there was not much pretence about it, + I was frightened. I could not conceal from myself that ours was a most + hazardous enterprise, and that it was very possible that I might make + acquaintance with that lion trap before I was many days older. However, it + seemed quite impossible to desert poor Every in his misfortune, so I had + to go on, and trust to Providence, as I have so often been obliged to do + before and since. + </p> + <p> + “And now a fresh difficulty arose. Wambe’s soldiers insisted upon + accompanying us, and what is more, did all they could to urge us forward, + as they were naturally anxious to get to the chief’s place before evening. + But we, on the other hand, had excellent reasons for not arriving till + night was closing in, since we relied upon the gloom to cover our advance + upon the koppie which commanded the town. Finally, they became so + importunate that we were obliged to refuse flatly to move faster, alleging + as a reason that the girl was tired. They did not accept this excuse in + good part, and at one time I thought that we should have come to blows, + for there is no love lost between Butianas and Matukus. At last, however, + either from motives of policy, or because they were so evidently + outnumbered, they gave in and suffered us to go our own pace. I earnestly + wished that they would have added to the obligation by going theirs, but + this they declined absolutely to do. On the contrary, they accompanied us + every foot of the way, keeping up a running fire of allusions to the + ‘Thing that bites’ that jarred upon my nerves and discomposed my temper. + </p> + <p> + “About half-past four in the afternoon we came to a neck or ridge of stony + ground, whence we could see Wambe’s town plainly lying some six or seven + miles away, and three thousand feet beneath us. The town is built in a + valley, with the exception of Wambe’s own kraal, that is situated at the + mouth of some caves upon the slope of the opposing mountains, over which I + hoped to see our impi’s spears flashing in the morrow’s light. Even from + where we stood, it was easy to see how strongly the place was fortified + with schanses and stone walls, and how difficult of approach. Indeed, + unless taken by surprise, it seemed to me quite impregnable to a force + operating without cannon, and even cannon would not make much impression + on rocks and stony koppies filled with caves. + </p> + <p> + “Then came the descent of the pass, and an arduous business it was, for + the path—if it may be called a path—is almost entirely + composed of huge water-worn boulders, from the one to the other of which + we must jump like so many grasshoppers. It took us two hours to climb + down, and, travelling through that burning sun, when at last we did reach + the bottom, I for one was nearly played out. Shortly afterwards, just as + it was growing dark, we came to the first line of fortifications, which + consisted of a triple stone wall pierced by a gateway, so narrow that a + man could hardly squeeze through it. We passed this without question, + being accompanied by Wambe’s soldiers. Then, came a belt of land three + hundred paces or more in width, very rocky and broken, and having no huts + upon it. Here in hollows in this belt the cattle were kraaled in case of + danger. On the further side were more fortifications and another small + gateway shaped like a V, and just beyond and through it I saw the koppie + we had planned to seize looming up against the line of mountains behind. + </p> + <p> + “As we went I whispered my suggestions to our captain, with the result + that at the second gateway he halted the cavalcade, and addressing the + captain of Wambe’s soldiers, said that we would wait here till we received + Wambe’s word to enter the town. The other man said that this was well, + only he must hand over the prisoners to be taken up to the chief’s kraal, + for Wambe, was ‘hungry to begin upon them,’ and his ‘heart desired to see + the white man at rest before he closed his eyes in sleep,’ and as for his + wife, ‘surely he would welcome her.’ Our leader replied that he could not + do this thing, because his orders were to deliver the prisoners to Wambe + at Wambe’s own kraal, and they might not be broken. How could he be + responsible for the safety of the prisoners if he let them out of his + hand? No, they would wait there till Wambe’s word was brought. + </p> + <p> + “To this, after some demur, the other man consented, and went away, + remarking that he would soon be back. As he passed me he called out with a + sneer, pointing as he did so to the fading red in the western sky—‘Look + your last upon the light, White Man, for the “Thing that bites” lives in + the dark.’ + </p> + <p> + “Next day it so happened that I shot this man, and, do you know, I think + that he is about the only human being who has come to harm at my hands for + whom I do not feel sincere sorrow and, in a degree, remorse.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII—THE ATTACK + </h2> + <p> + “Just where we halted ran a little stream of water. I looked at it, and an + idea struck me: probably there would be no water on the koppie. I + suggested this to our captain, and, acting on the hint, he directed all + the men to drink what they could, and also to fill the seven or eight + cooking pots which we carried with us with water. Then came the crucial + moment. How were we to get possession of the koppie? When the captain + asked me, I said that I thought that we had better march up and take it, + and this accordingly we went on to do. When we came to the narrow gateway + we were, as I expected stopped by two soldiers who stood on guard there + and asked our business. The captain answered that we had changed our + minds, and would follow on to Wambe’s kraal. The soldiers said no, we must + now wait. + </p> + <p> + “To this we replied by pushing them to one side and marching in single + file through the gateway, which was not distant more than a hundred yards + from the koppie. While we were getting through, the men we had pushed away + ran towards the town calling for assistance, a call that was promptly + responded to, for in another minute we saw scores of armed men running + hard in our direction. So we ran too, for the koppie. As soon as they + understood what we were after, which they did not at first, owing to the + dimness of the light, they did their best to get there before us. But we + had the start of them, and with the exception of one unfortunate man who + stumbled and fell, we were well on to the koppie before they arrived. This + man they captured, and when fighting began on the following morning, and + he refused to give any information, they killed him. Luckily they had no + time to torture him, or they would certainly have done so, for these + Matuku people are very fond of torturing their enemies. + </p> + <p> + “When we reached the koppie, the base of which covers about half an acre + of ground, the soldiers who had been trying to cut us off halted, for they + knew the strength of the position. This gave us a few minutes before the + light had quite vanished to reconnoitre the place. We found that it was + unoccupied, fortified with a regular labyrinth of stone walls, and + contained three large caves and some smaller ones. The next business was + to post the soldiers to such advantage as time would allow. My own men I + was careful to place quite at the top. They were perfectly useless from + terror, and I feared that they might try to escape and give information of + our plans to Wambe. So I watched them like the apple of my eye, telling + them that should they dare to stir they would be shot. + </p> + <p> + “Then it grew quite dark, and presently out of the darkness I heard a + voice—it was that of the leader of the soldiers who had escorted us—calling + us to come down. We replied that it was too dark to move, we should hit + our feet against the stones. He insisted upon our descending, and we + flatly refused, saying that if any attempt was made to dislodge us we + would fire. After that, as they had no real intention of attacking us in + the dark, the men withdrew, but we saw from the fires which were lit + around that they were keeping a strict watch upon our position. + </p> + <p> + “That night was a wearing one, for we never quite knew how the situation + was going to develop. Fortunately we had some cooked food with us, so we + did not starve. It was lucky, however, that we drunk our fill before + coming up, for, as I had anticipated, there was not a drop of water on the + koppie. + </p> + <p> + “At length the night wore away, and with the first tinge of light I began + to go my rounds, and stumbling along the stony paths, to make things as + ready as I could for the attack, which I felt sure would be delivered + before we were two hours older. The men were cramped and cold, and + consequently low-spirited, but I exhorted them to the best of my ability, + bidding them remember the race from which they sprang, and not to show the + white feather before a crowd of Matuku dogs. At length it began to grow + light, and presently I saw long columns of men advancing towards the + koppie. They halted under cover at a distance of about a hundred and fifty + yards, and just as the dawn broke a herald came forward and called to us. + Our captain stood up upon a rock and answered him. + </p> + <p> + “‘These are the words of Wambe,’ the herald said. ‘Come forth from the + koppie, and give over the evil-doers, and go in peace, or stay in the + koppie and be slain.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘It is too early to come out as yet,’ answered our man in fine diplomatic + style. ‘When the sun sucks up the mist then we will come out. Our limbs + are stiff with cold.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Come forth even now,’ said the herald. + </p> + <p> + “‘Not if I know it, my boy,’ said I to myself; but the captain replied + that he would come out when he thought proper, and not before. + </p> + <p> + “‘Then make ready to die,’ said the herald, for all the world like the + villain of a transpontine piece, and majestically stalked back to the + soldiers. + </p> + <p> + “I made my final arrangements, and looked anxiously at the mountain crest + a couple of miles or so away, from which the mist was now beginning to + lift, but no column of smoke could I see. I whistled, for if the attacking + force had been delayed or made any mistake, our position was likely to + grow rather warm. We had barely enough water to wet the mouths of the men, + and when once it was finished we could not hold the place for long in that + burning heat. + </p> + <p> + “At length, just as the sun rose in glory over the heights behind us, the + Matuku soldiers, of whom about fifteen hundred were now assembled, set up + a queer whistling noise, which ended in a chant. Then some shots were + fired, for the Matuku had a few guns, but without effect, though one + bullet passed just by a man’s head. + </p> + <p> + “‘Now they are going to begin,’ I thought to myself, and I was not far + wrong, for in another minute the body of men divided into three companies, + each about five hundred strong, and, heralded by a running fire, charged + at us on three sides. Our men were now all well under cover, and the fire + did us no harm. I mounted on a rock so as to command a view of as much of + the koppie and plain as possible, and yelled to our men to reserve their + fire till I gave the word, and then to shoot low and load as quickly as + possible. I knew that, like all natives, they were sure to be execrable + shots, and that they were armed with weapons made out of old gas-pipes, so + the only chance of doing execution was to let the enemy get right on to + us. + </p> + <p> + “On they came with a rush; they were within eighty yards now, and as they + drew near the point of attack, I observed that they closed their ranks, + which was so much the better for us. + </p> + <p> + “‘Shall we not fire, my father?’ sung out the captain. + </p> + <p> + “‘No, confound you!’ I answered. + </p> + <p> + “‘Sixty yards—fifty—forty—thirty. Fire, you scoundrels!’ + I yelled, setting the example by letting off both barrels of my elephant + gun into the thickest part of the company opposite to me. + </p> + <p> + “Instantly the place rang out with the discharge of two hundred and odd + guns, while the air was torn by the passage of every sort of missile, from + iron pot legs down to slugs and pebbles coated with lead. The result was + very prompt. The Matukus were so near that we could not miss them, and at + thirty yards a lead-coated stone out of a gas-pipe is as effective as a + Martini rifle, or more so. Over rolled the attacking soldiers by the + dozen, while the survivors, fairly frightened, took to their heels. We + plied them with shot till they were out of range—I made it very warm + for them with the elephant gun, by the way—and then we loaded up in + quite a cheerful frame of mind, for we had not lost a man, whereas I could + count more than fifty dead and wounded Matukus. The only thing that damped + my ardour was that, stare as I would, I could see no column of smoke upon + the mountain crest. + </p> + <p> + “Half an hour elapsed before any further steps were taken against us. Then + the attacking force adopted different tactics. Seeing that it was very + risky to try to rush us in dense masses, they opened out into skirmishing + order and ran across the open space in lots of five and six. As it + happened, right at the foot of the koppie the ground broke away a little + in such fashion that it was almost impossible for us to search it + effectually with our fire. On the hither side of this dip Wambe’s soldiers + were now congregating in considerable numbers. Of course we did them as + much damage as we could while they were running across, but this sort of + work requires good shots, and that was just what we had not got. Another + thing was, that so many of our men would insist upon letting off the + things they called guns at every little knot of the enemy that ran across. + Thus, the first few lots were indeed practically swept away, but after + that, as it took a long while to load the gas-pipes and old flint muskets, + those who followed got across in comparative safety. For my own part, I + fired away with the elephant gun and repeating carbine till they grew + almost too hot to hold, but my individual efforts could do nothing to stop + such a rush, or perceptibly to lessen the number of our enemies. + </p> + <p> + “At length there were at least a thousand men crowded into the dip of + ground within a few yards of us, whence those of them who had guns kept up + a continued fusillade upon the koppie. They killed two of my bearers in + this way, and wounded a third, for being at the top of the koppie these + men were most exposed to the fire from the dip at its base. Seeing that + the situation was growing most serious, at length, by the dint of threats + and entreaties, I persuaded the majority of our people to cease firing + useless shots, to reload, and prepare for the rush. Scarcely had I done so + when the enemy came for us with a roar. I am bound to say that I should + never have believed that Matukus had it in them to make such a determined + charge. A large party rushed round the base of the koppie, and attacked us + in flank, while the others swarmed wherever they could get a foothold, so + that we were taken on every side. + </p> + <p> + “‘<i>Fire!</i>’ I cried, and we did with terrible effect. Many of their + men fell, but though we checked we could not stop them. They closed up and + rushed the first fortification, killing a good number of its defenders. It + was almost all cold steel work now, for we had no time to reload, and that + suited the Butiana habits of fighting well enough, for the stabbing + assegai is a weapon which they understand. Those of our people who escaped + from the first line of walls took refuge in the second, where I stood + myself, encouraging them, and there the fight raged fiercely. Occasionally + parties of the enemy would force a passage, only to perish on the hither + side beneath the Butiana spears. But still they kept it up, and I saw + that, fight as we would, we were doomed. We were altogether outnumbered, + and to make matters worse, fresh bodies of soldiers were pouring across + the plain to the assistance of our assailants. So I made up my mind to + direct a retreat into the caves, and there expire in a manner as heroic as + circumstances would allow; and while mentally lamenting my hard fate and + reflecting on my sins I fought away like a fiend. It was then, I remember, + that I shot my friend the captain of our escort of the previous day. He + had caught sight of me, and making a vicious dig at my stomach with a + spear (which I successfully dodged), shouted out, or rather began to shout + out, one of his unpleasant allusions to the ‘Thing that——’ He + never got as far as ‘bites,’ because I shot him after ‘that.’ + </p> + <p> + “Well, the game was about up. Already I saw one man throw down his spear + in token of surrender—which act of cowardice cost him his life, by + the way—when suddenly a shout arose. + </p> + <p> + “‘Look at the mountain,’ they cried; ‘there is an impi on the mountain + side.’ + </p> + <p> + “I glanced up, and there sure enough, about half-way down the mountain, + nearing the first fortification, the long-plumed double line of Nala’s + warriors was rushing down to battle, the bright light of the morning + glancing on their spears. Afterwards we discovered that the reason of + their delay was that they had been stopped by a river in flood, and could + not reach the mountain crest by dawn. When they did reach it, however, + they saw instantly that the fight was already going on, was ‘in flower,’ + as they put it, and so advanced at once without waiting to light + signal-fires. + </p> + <p> + “Meanwhile they had been observed from the town, and parties of soldiers + were charging up the steep side of the hill, to occupy the schanses, and + the second line of fortifications behind them. The first line they did not + now attempt to reach or defend; Nala pressed them too close. But they got + to the schanses or pits protected with stone walls, and constructed to + hold from a dozen to twenty men, and soon began to open fire from them, + and from isolated rocks. I turned my eyes to the gates of the town, which + were placed to the north and south. Already they were crowded with + hundreds of fugitive women and children flying to the rocks and caves for + shelter from the foe. + </p> + <p> + “As for ourselves, the appearance of Nala’s impi produced a wonderful + change for the better in our position. The soldiers attacking us turned, + realizing that the town was being assailed from the rear, and clambering + down the koppie streamed off to protect their homes against this new + enemy. In five minutes there was not a man left except those who would + move no more, or were too sorely wounded to escape. I felt inclined to + ejaculate ‘<i>Saved!</i>’ like the gentleman in the play, but did not + because the occasion was too serious. What I did do was to muster all the + men and reckon up our losses. They amounted to fifty-one killed and + wounded, sixteen men having been killed outright. Then I sent men with the + cooking-pots to the stream of water, and we drank. This done I set my + bearers, being the most useless part of the community, from a fighting + point of view, to the task of attending the injured, and turned to watch + the fray. + </p> + <p> + “By this time Nala’s impi had climbed the first line of fortifications + without opposition, and was advancing in a long line upon the schanses or + pits which were scattered about between it and the second line, singing a + war chant as it came. Presently puffs of smoke began to start from the + schanses, and with my glasses I could see several of our men falling over. + Then as they came opposite a schanse that portion of the long line of + warriors would thicken up and charge it with a wild rush. I could see them + leap on to the walls and vanish into the depths beneath, some of their + number falling backward on each occasion, shot or stabbed to death. + </p> + <p> + “Next would come another act in the tragedy. Out from the hither side of + the schanse would pour such of its defenders as were left alive, perhaps + three or four and perhaps a dozen, running for dear life, with the war + dogs on their tracks. One by one they would be caught, then up flashed the + great spear and down fell the pursued—dead. I saw ten of our men + leap into one large schanse, but though I watched for some time nobody + came out. Afterwards we inspected the place and found these men all dead, + together with twenty-three Matukus. Neither side would give in, and they + had fought it out to the bitter end. + </p> + <p> + “At last they neared the second line of fortifications, behind which the + whole remaining Matuku force, numbering some two thousand men, was rapidly + assembling. One little pause to get their breath, and Nala’s men came at + it with a rush and a long wild shout of ‘<i>Bulala Matuku</i>’ (kill the + Matuku) that went right through me, thrilling every nerve. Then came an + answering shout, and the sounds of heavy firing, and presently I saw our + men retreating, somewhat fewer in numbers than they had advanced. Their + welcome had been a warm one for the Matuku fight splendidly behind walls. + This decided me that it was necessary to create a diversion; if we did not + do so it seemed very probable that we should be worsted after all. I + called to the captain of our little force, and rapidly put the position + before him. + </p> + <p> + “Seeing the urgency of the occasion, he agreed with me that we must risk + it, and in two minutes more, with the exception of my own men, whom I left + to guard the wounded, we were trotting across the open space and through + the deserted town towards the spot where the struggle was taking place, + some seven hundred yards away. In six or eight minutes we reached a group + of huts—it was a head man’s kraal, that was situated about a hundred + and twenty yards behind the fortified wall, and took possession of it + unobserved. The enemy was too much engaged with the foe in front of him to + notice us, and besides, the broken ground rose in a hog-back shape + between. There we waited a minute or two and recovered our breath, while I + gave my directions. So soon as we heard the Butiana impi begin to charge + again, we were to run out in a line to the brow of the hogback and pour + our fire into the mass of defenders behind the wall. Then the guns were to + be thrown down and we must charge with the assegai. We had no shields, but + that could not be helped; there would be no time to reload the guns, and + it was absolutely necessary that the enemy should be disconcerted at the + moment when the main attack was delivered. + </p> + <p> + “The men, who were as plucky a set of fellows as ever I saw, and whose + blood was now thoroughly up, consented to this scheme, though I could see + that they thought it rather a large order, as indeed I did myself. But I + knew that if the impi was driven back a second time the game would be + played, and for me at any rate it would be a case of the ‘Thing that + bites,’ and this sure and certain knowledge filled my breast with valour. + </p> + <p> + “We had not long to wait. Presently we heard the Butiana war-song swelling + loud and long; they had commenced their attack. I made a sign, and the + hundred and fifty men, headed by myself, poured out of the kraal, and + getting into a rough line ran up the fifty or sixty yards of slope that + intervened between ourselves and the crest of the hog-backed ridge. In + thirty seconds we were there, and immediately beyond us was the main body + of the Matuku host waiting the onslaught of the enemy with guns and + spears. Even now they did not see us, so intent were they upon the coming + attack. I signed to my men to take careful aim, and suddenly called out to + them to fire, which they did with a will, dropping thirty or forty + Matukus. + </p> + <p> + “‘<i>Charge!</i>’ I shouted, again throwing down my smoking rifle and + drawing my revolver, an example which they followed, snatching up their + spears from the ground where they had placed them while they fired. The + men set up a savage whoop, and we started. I saw the Matuku soldiers wheel + around in hundreds, utterly taken aback at this new development of the + situation. And looking over them, before we had gone twenty yards I saw + something else. For of a sudden, as though they had risen from the earth, + there appeared above the wall hundreds of great spears, followed by + hundreds of savage faces shadowed with drooping plumes. With a yell they + sprang upon the wall shaking their broad shields, and with a yell they + bounded from it straight into our astonished foes. + </p> + <p> + “<i>Crash!</i> we were in them now, and fighting like demons. <i>Crash!</i> + from the other side. Nala’s impi was at its work, and still the spears and + plumes appeared for a moment against the brown background of the mountain, + and then sprang down and rushed like a storm upon the foe. The great mob + of men turned this way and turned that way, astonished, bewildered, + overborne by doubt and terror. + </p> + <p> + “Meanwhile the slayers stayed not their hands, and on every side spears + flashed, and the fierce shout of triumph went up to heaven. There too on + the wall stood Maiwa, a white garment streaming from her shoulders, an + assegai in her hand, her breast heaving, her eyes flashing. Above all the + din of battle I could catch the tones of her clear voice as she urged the + soldiers on to victory. But victory was not yet. Wambe’s soldiers gathered + themselves together, and bore our men back by the sheer weight of numbers. + They began to give, then once more they rallied, and the fight hung + doubtfully. + </p> + <p> + “‘Slay, you war-whelps,’ cried Maiwa from the wall. ‘Are you afraid, you + women, you chicken-hearted women! Strike home, or die like dogs! What—you + give way! Follow me, children of Nala.’ And with one long cry she leapt + from the wall as leaps a stricken antelope, and holding the spear poised + rushed right into the thickest of the fray. The warriors saw her, and + raised such a shout that it echoed like thunder against the mountains. + They massed together, and following the flutter of her white robe crashed + into the dense heart of the foe. Down went the Matuku before them like + trees before a whirlwind. Nothing could stand in the face of such a rush + as that. It was as the rush of a torrent bursting its banks. All along + their line swept the wild desperate charge; and there, straight in the + forefront of the battle, still waved the white robe of Maiwa. + </p> + <p> + “Then they broke, and, stricken with utter panic, Wambe’s soldiers + streamed away a scattered crowd of fugitives, while after them thundered + the footfall of the victors. + </p> + <p> + “The fight was over, we had won the day; and for my part I sat down upon a + stone and wiped my forehead, thanking Providence that I had lived to see + the end of it. Twenty minutes later Nala’s warriors began to return + panting. ‘Wambe’s soldiers had taken to the bush and the caves,’ they + said, ‘where they had not thought it safe to follow them,’ adding + significantly, that many had stopped on the way. + </p> + <p> + “I was utterly dazed, and now that the fight was over my energy seemed to + have left me, and I did not pay much attention, till presently I was + aroused by somebody calling me by my name. I looked up, and saw that it + was the chief Nala himself, who was bleeding from a flesh wound in his + arm. By his side stood Maiwa panting, but unhurt, and wearing on her face + a proud and terrifying air. + </p> + <p> + “‘They are gone, Macumazahn,’ said the chief; ‘there is little to fear + from them, their heart is broken. But where is Wambe the chief?—and + where is the white man thou camest to save?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘I know not,’ I answered. + </p> + <p> + “Close to where we stood lay a Matuku, a young man who had been shot + through the fleshy part of the calf. It was a trifling wound, but it + prevented him from running away. + </p> + <p> + “‘Say, thou dog,’ said Nala, stalking up to him and shaking his red spear + in his face, ‘say, where is Wambe? Speak, or I slay thee. Was he with the + soldiers?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Nay, lord, I know not,’ groaned the terrified man, ‘he fought not with + us; Wambe has no stomach for fighting. Perchance he is in his kraal + yonder, or in the cave behind the kraal,’ and he pointed to a small + enclosure on the hillside, about four hundred yards to the right of where + we were. + </p> + <p> + “‘Let us go and see,’ said Nala, summoning his soldiers.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII—MAIWA IS AVENGED + </h2> + <p> + “The impi formed up; alas, an hour before it had been stronger by a third + than it was now. Then Nala detached two hundred men to collect and attend + to the injured, and at my suggestion issued a stringent order that none of + the enemy’s wounded, and above all no women or children, were to be + killed, as is the savage custom among African natives. On the contrary, + they were to be allowed to send word to their women that they might come + in to nurse them and fear nothing, for Nala made war upon Wambe the + tyrant, and not on the Matuku tribe. + </p> + <p> + “Then we started with some four hundred men for the chief’s kraal. Very + soon we were there. It was, as I have said, placed against the mountain + side, but within the fortified lines, and did not at all cover more than + an acre and a half of ground. Outside was a tiny reed fence, within which, + neatly arranged in a semi-circular line, stood the huts of the chief’s + principal wives. Maiwa of course knew every inch of the kraal, for she had + lived in it, and led us straight to the entrance. We peeped through the + gateway—not a soul was to be seen. There were the huts and there was + the clear open space floored with a concrete of lime, on which the sun + beat fiercely, but nobody could we see or hear. + </p> + <p> + “‘The jackal has gone to earth,’ said Maiwa; ‘he will be in the cave + behind his hut,’ and she pointed with her spear towards another small and + semi-circular enclosure, over which a large hut was visible, that had the + cliff itself for a background. I stared at this fence; by George! it was + true, it was entirely made of tusks of ivory planted in the ground with + their points bending outwards. The smallest ones, though none were small, + were placed nearest to the cliff on either side, but they gradually + increased in size till they culminated in two enormous tusks, which, set + up so that their points met, something in the shape of an inverted V, + formed the gateway to the hut. I was dumbfoundered with delight; and + indeed, where is the elephant-hunter who would not be, if he suddenly saw + five or six hundred picked tusks set up in a row, and only waiting for him + to take them away? Of course the stuff was what is known as ‘black’ ivory; + that is, the exterior of the tusks had become black from years or perhaps + centuries of exposure to wind and weather, but I was certain that it would + be none the worse for that. Forgetting the danger of the deed, in my + excitement I actually ran right across the open space, and drawing my + knife scratched vigorously at one of the great tusks to see how deep the + damage might be. As I thought, it was nothing; there beneath the black + covering gleamed the pure white ivory. I could have capered for joy, for I + fear that I am very mercenary at heart, when suddenly I heard the faint + echo of a cry for assistance. ‘Help!’ screamed a voice in the Sisutu + dialect from somewhere behind the hut; ‘help! they are murdering me.’ + </p> + <p> + “<i>I knew the voice</i>; it was John Every’s. Oh, what a selfish brute + was I! For the moment that miserable ivory had driven the recollection of + him out of my head, and now—perhaps it was too late. + </p> + <p> + “Nala, Maiwa, and the soldiers had now come up. They too heard the voice + and interpreted its tone, though they had not caught the words. + </p> + <p> + “‘This way,’ cried Maiwa, and we started at a run, passing round the hut + of Wambe. Behind was the narrow entrance to a cave. We rushed through it + heedless of the danger of the ambush, and this is what we saw, though very + confusedly at first, owing to the gloom. + </p> + <p> + “In the centre of the cave, and with either end secured to the floor by + strong stakes, stood a huge double-springed lion trap edged with sharp and + grinning teeth. It was set, and beyond the trap, indeed almost over it, a + terrible struggle was in progress. A naked or almost naked white man, with + a great beard hanging down over his breast, in spite of his furious + struggles, was being slowly forced and dragged towards the trap by six or + eight women. Only one man was present, a fat, cruel-looking man with small + eyes and a hanging lip. It was the chief Wambe, and he stood by the trap + ready to force the victim down upon it so soon as the women had dragged + him into the necessary position. + </p> + <p> + “At this instant they caught sight of us, and there came a moment’s pause, + and then, before I knew what she was going to do, Maiwa lifted the assegai + she still held, and whirled it at Wambe’s head. I saw the flash of light + speed towards him, and so did he, for he stepped backward to avoid it—stepped + backward right into the trap. He yelled with pain as the iron teeth of the + ‘Thing that bites’ sprang up with a rattling sound like living fangs and + fastened into him—such a yell I have not often heard. Now at last he + tasted of the torture which he had inflicted upon so many, and though I + trust I am a Christian, I cannot say that I felt sorry for him. + </p> + <p> + “The assegai sped on and struck one of the women who had hold of the + unfortunate Every, piercing through her arm. This made her leave go, an + example that the other women quickly followed, so that Every fell to the + ground, where he lay gasping. + </p> + <p> + “‘Kill the witches,’ roared Nala, in a voice of thunder, pointing to the + group of women. + </p> + <p> + “‘Nay,’ gasped Every, ‘spare them. He made them do it,’ and he pointed to + the human fiend in the trap. Then Maiwa waved her hand to us to fall back, + for the moment of her vengeance was come. We did so, and she strode up to + her lord, and flinging the white robe from her stood before him, her + fierce beautiful face fixed like stone. + </p> + <p> + “‘Who am I?’ she cried in so terrible a voice that he ceased his yells. + ‘Am I that woman who was given to thee for wife, and whose child thou + slewest? Or am I an avenging spirit come to see thee die? + </p> + <p> + “‘What is this?’ she went on, drawing the withered baby-hand from the + pouch at her side. + </p> + <p> + “‘Is it the hand of a babe? and how came that hand to be thus alone? What + cut it off from the babe? and where is the babe? Is it a hand? or is it + the vision of a hand that shall presently tear thy throat? + </p> + <p> + “‘Where are thy soldiers, Wambe? Do they sleep and eat and go forth to do + thy bidding? or are they perchance dead and scattered like the winter + leaves?’ + </p> + <p> + “He groaned and rolled his eyes while the fierce-faced woman went on. + </p> + <p> + “‘Art thou still a chief, Wambe? or does another take thy place and power, + and say, Lord, what doest thou there? and what is that slave’s leglet upon + thy knee? + </p> + <p> + “‘Is it a dream, Wambe, great lord and chief? or’—and she lifted her + clenched hands and shook them in his face—‘hath a woman’s vengeance + found thee out and a woman’s wit o’ermatched thy tyrannous strength? and + art thou about to slowly die in torments horrible to think on, oh, thou + accursed murderer of little children?’ + </p> + <p> + “And with one wild scream she dashed the dead hand of the child straight + into his face, and then fell senseless on the floor. As for the demon in + the trap, he shrank back so far as its iron bounds would allow, his yellow + eyes starting out of his head with pain and terror, and then once more + began to yell. + </p> + <p> + “The scene was more than I could bear. + </p> + <p> + “‘Nala,’ I said, ‘this must stop. That man is a fiend, but he must not be + left to die there. See thou to it.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Nay,” answered Nala, ‘let him taste of the food wherewith he hath fed so + many; leave him till death shall find him.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘That I will not,’ I answered. ‘Let his end be swift; see thou to it.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘As thou wilt, Macumazahn,’ answered the chief, with a shrug of the + shoulders; ‘first let the white man and Maiwa be brought forth.’ + </p> + <p> + “So the soldiers came forward and carried Every and the woman into the + open air. As the former was borne past his tormentor, the fallen chief, so + cowardly was his wicked heart, actually prayed him to intercede for him, + and save him from a fate which, but for our providential appearance, would + have been Every’s own. + </p> + <p> + “So we went away, and in another moment one of the biggest villains on the + earth troubled it no more. Once in the fresh air Every recovered quickly. + I looked at him, and horror and sorrow pierced me through to see such a + sight. His face was the face of a man of sixty, though he was not yet + forty, and his poor body was cut to pieces with stripes and scars, and + other marks of the torments which Wambe had for years amused himself with + inflicting on him. + </p> + <p> + “As soon as he recovered himself a little he struggled on to his knees, + burst into a paroxysm of weeping, and clasping my legs with his emaciated + arms, would have actually kissed my feet. + </p> + <p> + “‘What are you about, old fellow?’ I said, for I am not accustomed to that + sort of thing, and it made me feel uncomfortable. + </p> + <p> + “‘Oh, God bless you?’ he moaned, ‘God bless you! If only you knew what I + have gone through; and to think that you should have come to help me, and + at the risk of your own life! Well, you were always a true friend—yes, + yes, a true friend.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Bosh,’ I answered testily; ‘I’m a trader, and I came after that ivory,’ + and I pointed to the stockade of tusks. ‘Did you ever hear of an + elephant-hunter who would not have risked his immortal soul for them, and + much more his carcase?’ + </p> + <p> + “But he took no notice of my explanations, and went on God blessing me as + hard as ever, till at last I bethought me that a nip of brandy, of which I + had a flask full, might steady his nerves a bit. I gave it him, and was + not disappointed in the result, for he brisked up wonderfully. Then I + hunted about in Wambe’s hut, and found a kaross to put over his poor + bruised shoulders, and he was quite a man again. + </p> + <p> + “‘Now,’ I said, ‘why did the late lamented Wambe want to put you in that + trap?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Because as soon as they heard that the fight was going against them, and + that Maiwa was charging at the head of Nala’s impi, one of the women told + Wambe that she had seen me write something on some leaves and give them to + Maiwa before she went away to purify herself. Then of course he guessed + that I had to do with your seizing the koppie and holding it while the + impi rushed the place from the mountain, so he determined to torture me to + death before help could come. Oh, heavens! what a mercy it is to hear + English again.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘How long have you been a prisoner here, Every?’ I asked. + </p> + <p> + “‘Six years and a bit, Quatermain; I have lost count of the odd months + lately. I came up here with Major Aldey and three other gentlemen and + forty bearers. That devil Wambe ambushed us, and murdered the lot to get + their guns. They weren’t much use to him when he got them, being + breech-loaders, for the fools fired away all the ammunition in a month or + two. However, they are all in good order, and hanging up in the hut there. + They didn’t kill me because one of them saw me mending a gun just before + they attacked us, so they kept me as a kind of armourer. Twice I tried to + make a bolt of it, but was caught each time. Last time Wambe had me + flogged very nearly to death—you can see the scars upon my back. + Indeed I should have died if it hadn’t been for the girl Maiwa, who nursed + me by stealth. He got that accursed lion trap among our things also, and I + suppose he has tortured between one and two hundred people to death in it. + It was his favourite amusement, and he would go every day and sit and + watch his victim till he died. Sometimes he would give him food and water + to keep him alive longer, telling him or her that he would let him go if + he lived till a certain day. But he never did let them go. They all died + there, and I could show you their bones behind that rock.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘The devil!’ I said, grinding my teeth. ‘I wish I hadn’t interfered; I + wish I had left him to the same fate.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Well, he got a taste of it any way,’ said Every; ‘I’m glad he got a + taste. There’s justice in it, and now he’s gone to hell, and I hope there + is another one ready for him there. By Jove! I should like to have the + setting of it.’ + </p> + <p> + “And so he talked on, and I sat and listened to him, wondering how he had + kept his reason for so many years. But he didn’t talk as I have told it, + in plain English. He spoke very slowly, and as though he had got something + in his mouth, continually using native words because the English ones had + slipped his memory. + </p> + <p> + “At last Nala came up and told us that food was made ready, and thankful + enough we were to get it, I can tell you. After we had eaten we held a + consultation. Quite a thousand of Wambe’s soldiers were put <i>hors de + combat</i>, but at least two thousand remained hidden in the bush and + rocks, and these men, together with those in the outlying kraals, were a + source of possible danger. The question arose, therefore, what was to be + done—were they to be followed or left alone? I waited till everybody + had spoken, some giving one opinion and some another, and then being + appealed to I gave mine. It was to the effect that Nala should take a leaf + out of the great Zulu T’Chaka’s book, and incorporate the tribe, not + destroy it. We had a good many women among the prisoners. Let them, I + suggested, be sent to the hiding-places of the soldiers and make an offer. + If the men would come and lay down their arms and declare allegiance to + Nala, they and their town and cattle should be spared. Wambe’s cattle + alone would be seized as the prize of war. Moreover, Wambe having left no + children, his wife Maiwa should be declared chieftainess of the tribe, + under Nala. If they did not accept this offer by the morning of the second + day it should be taken as a declaration that they wished to continue the + war. Their town should be burned, their cattle, which our men were already + collecting and driving in in great numbers, would be taken, and they + should be hunted down. + </p> + <p> + “This advice was at once declared to be wise, and acted on. The women were + despatched, and I saw from their faces that they never expected to get + such terms, and did not think that their mission would be in vain. + Nevertheless, we spent that afternoon in preparations against possible + surprise, and also in collecting all the wounded of both parties into a + hospital, which we extemporized out of some huts, and there attending to + them as best we could. + </p> + <p> + “That evening Every had the first pipe of tobacco that he had tasted for + six years. Poor fellow, he nearly cried with joy over it. The night passed + without any sign of attack, and on the following morning we began to see + the effect of our message, for women, children, and a few men came in in + little knots, and took possession of their huts. It was of course rather + difficult to prevent our men from looting, and generally going on as + natives, and for the matter of that white men too, are in the habit of + doing after a victory. But one man who after warning was caught + maltreating a woman was brought out and killed by Nala’s order, and though + there was a little grumbling, that put a stop to further trouble. + </p> + <p> + “On the second morning the head men and numbers of their followers came in + in groups, and about midday a deputation of the former presented + themselves before us without their weapons. They were conquered, they + said, and Wambe was dead, so they came to hear the words of the great lion + who had eaten them up, and of the crafty white man, the jackal, who had + dug a hole for them to fall in, and of Maiwa, Lady of War, who had led the + charge and turned the fate of the battle. + </p> + <p> + “So we let them hear the words, and when we had done an old man rose and + said, that in the name of the people he accepted the yoke that was laid + upon their shoulders, and that the more gladly because even the rule of a + woman could not be worse than the rule of Wambe. Moreover, they knew + Maiwa, the Lady of War, and feared her not, though she was a witch and + terrible to see in battle. + </p> + <p> + “Then Nala asked his daughter if she was willing to become chieftainess of + the tribe under him. + </p> + <p> + “Maiwa, who had been very silent since her revenge was accomplished, + answered yes, that she was, and that her rule should be good and gentle to + those who were good and gentle to her, but the froward and rebellious she + would smite with a rod of iron; which from my knowledge of her character I + thought exceedingly probable. + </p> + <p> + “The head man replied that that was a good saying, and they did not + complain at it, and so the meeting ended. + </p> + <p> + “Next day we spent in preparations for departure. Mine consisted chiefly + in superintending the digging up of the stockade of ivory tusks, which I + did with the greatest satisfaction. There were some five hundred of them + altogether. I made inquiries about it from Every, who told me that the + stockade had been there so long that nobody seemed to know exactly who had + collected the tusks originally. There was, however, a kind of + superstitious feeling about them which had always prevented the chiefs + from trying to sell this great mass of ivory. Every and I examined it + carefully, and found that although it was so old its quality was really as + good as ever, and there was very little soft ivory in the lot. At first I + was rather afraid lest, now that my services had been rendered, Nala + should hesitate to part with so much valuable property, but this was not + the case. When I spoke to him on the subject he merely said, ‘Take it, + Macumazahn, take it; you have earned it well,’ and, to speak the truth, + though I say it who shouldn’t, I think I had. So we pressed several + hundred Matuku bearers into our service, and next day marched off with the + lot. + </p> + <p> + “Before we went I took a formal farewell of Maiwa, whom we left with a + bodyguard of three hundred men to assist her in settling the country. She + gave me her hand to kiss in a queenly sort of way, and then said, + </p> + <p> + “‘Macumazahn, you are a brave man, and have been a friend to me in my + need. If ever you want help or shelter, remember that Maiwa has a good + memory for friend and foe. All I have is yours. + </p> + <p> + “And so I thanked her and went. She was certainly a very remarkable woman. + A year or two ago I heard that her father Nala was dead, and that she had + succeeded to the chieftainship of both tribes, which she ruled with great + justice and firmness. + </p> + <p> + “I can assure you that we ascended the pass leading to Wambe’s town with + feelings very different from those with which we had descended it a few + days before. But if I was grateful for the issue of events, you can easily + imagine what poor Every’s feelings were. When we got to the top of the + pass, before the whole impi he actually flopped down upon his knees and + thanked Heaven for his escape, the tears running down his face. But then, + as I have said, his nerves were shaken—though now that his beard was + trimmed and he had some sort of clothes on his back, and hope in his + heart, he looked a very different man from the poor wretch whom we had + rescued from death by torture. + </p> + <p> + “Well, we separated from Nala at the little stairway or pass over the + mountain—Every and I and the ivory going down the river which I had + come up a few weeks before, and the chief returning to his own kraal on + the further side of the mountain. He gave us an escort of a hundred and + fifty men, however, with instructions to accompany us for six days’ + journey, and to keep the Matuku bearers in order and then return. I knew + that in six days we should be able to reach a district where porters were + plentiful, and whence we could easily get the ivory conveyed to Delagoa + Bay.” + </p> + <p> + “And did you land it up safe?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “Well no,” said Quatermain, “we lost about a third of it in crossing a + river. A flood came down suddenly just as the men were crossing and many + of them had to throw down their tusks to save their lives. We had no means + of dragging it up, and so we were obliged to leave it, which was very sad. + However, we sold what remained for nearly seven thousand pounds, so we did + not do so badly. I don’t mean that I got seven thousand pounds out of it, + because, you see, I insisted upon Every taking a half share. Poor fellow, + he had earned it, if ever a man did. He set up a store in the old colony + on the proceeds and did uncommonly well.” + </p> + <p> + “And what did you do with the lion trap?” asked Sir Henry. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I brought that away with me also, and when I reached Durban I put it + in my house. But really I could not bear to sit opposite to it at nights + as I smoked. Visions of that poor woman and the hand of her dead child + would rise up in my mind, and also of all the horrors of which it had been + the instrument. I began to dream at last that it held me by the leg. This + was too much for my nerves, so I just packed it up and shipped it to its + maker in England, whose name was stamped upon the steel, sending him a + letter at the same time to tell him to what purpose the infernal machine + had been put. I believe that he gave it to some museum or other.” + </p> + <p> + “And what became of the tusks of the three bulls which you shot! You must + have left them at Nala’s kraal, I suppose.” + </p> + <p> + The old gentleman’s face fell at this question. + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” he said, “that is a very sad story. Nala promised to send them with + my goods to my agent at Delagoa, and so he did. But the men who brought + them were unarmed, and, as it happened, they fell in with a slave caravan + under the command of a half-bred Portuguese, who seized the tusks, and + what is worse, swore that he had shot them. I paid him out afterwards, + however,” he added with a smile of satisfaction, “but it did not give me + back my tusks, which no doubt have been turned into hair brushes long + ago;” and he sighed. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Good, “that is a capital yarn of yours, Quatermain, but——” + </p> + <p> + “But what?” he asked sharply, foreseeing a draw. + </p> + <p> + “But I don’t think that it was so good as mine about the ibex—it + hasn’t the same <i>finish</i>.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Quatermain made no reply. Good was beneath it. + </p> + <p> + “Do you know, gentlemen,” he said, “it is half-past two in the morning, + and if we are going to shoot the big wood to-morrow we ought to leave here + at nine-thirty sharp.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, if you shoot for a hundred years you will never beat the record of + those three woodcocks,” I said. + </p> + <p> + “Or of those three elephants,” added Sir Henry. + </p> + <p> + And then we all went to bed, and I dreamed that I had married Maiwa, and + was much afraid of that attractive but determined lady. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Maiwa’s Revenge, by H. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Maiwa's Revenge + The War of the Little Hand + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: March 31, 2006 [EBook #2713] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAIWA'S REVENGE *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny; Emma Dudding + + + + + +MAIWA'S REVENGE + +OR THE WAR OF THE LITTLE HAND + + +by H. Rider Haggard + + + + +PREFACE + +It may be well to state that the incident of the "Thing that bites" +recorded in this tale is not an effort of the imagination. On the +contrary, it is "plagiarized." Mandara, a well-known chief on the east +coast of Africa, has such an article, _and uses it_. In the same way the +wicked conduct attributed to Wambe is not without a precedent. T'Chaka, +the Zulu Napoleon, never allowed a child of his to live. Indeed he went +further, for on discovering that his mother, Unandi, was bringing up one +of his sons in secret, like Nero he killed her, and with his own hand. + + + + + +MAIWA'S REVENGE + + + + +I--GOBO STRIKES + +One day--it was about a week after Allan Quatermain told me his story +of the "Three Lions," and of the moving death of Jim-Jim--he and I were +walking home together on the termination of a day's shooting. He owned +about two thousand acres of shooting round the place he had bought in +Yorkshire, over a hundred of which were wood. It was the second year of +his occupation of the estate, and already he had reared a very fair head +of pheasants, for he was an all-round sportsman, and as fond of shooting +with a shot-gun as with an eight-bore rifle. We were three guns that +day, Sir Henry Curtis, Old Quatermain, and myself; but Sir Henry was +obliged to leave in the middle of the afternoon in order to meet +his agent, and inspect an outlying farm where a new shed was wanted. +However, he was coming back to dinner, and going to bring Captain Good +with him, for Brayley Hall was not more than two miles from the Grange. + +We had met with very fair sport, considering that we were only +going through outlying cover for cocks. I think that we had killed +twenty-seven, a woodcock and a leash of partridges which we secured +out of a driven covey. On our way home there lay a long narrow spinney, +which was a very favourite "lie" for woodcocks, and generally held a +pheasant or two as well. + +"Well, what do you say?" said old Quatermain, "shall we beat through +this for a finish?" + +I assented, and he called to the keeper who was following with a little +knot of beaters, and told him to beat the spinney. + +"Very well, sir," answered the man, "but it's getting wonderful dark, +and the wind's rising a gale. It will take you all your time to hit a +woodcock if the spinney holds one." + +"You show us the woodcocks, Jeffries," answered Quatermain quickly, for +he never liked being crossed in anything to do with sport, "and we will +look after shooting them." + +The man turned and went rather sulkily. I heard him say to the +under-keeper, "He's pretty good, the master is, I'm not saying he isn't, +but if he kills a woodcock in this light and wind, I'm a Dutchman." + +I think that Quatermain heard him too, though he said nothing. The wind +was rising every minute, and by the time the beat begun it blew big +guns. I stood at the right-hand corner of the spinney, which curved +round somewhat, and Quatermain stood at the left, about forty paces from +me. Presently an old cock pheasant came rocketing over me, looking as +though the feathers were being blown out of his tail. I missed him clean +with the first barrel, and was never more pleased with myself in my life +than when I doubled him up with the second, for the shot was not an +easy one. In the faint light I could see Quatermain nodding his head in +approval, when through the groaning of the trees I heard the shouts of +the beaters, "Cock forward, cock to the right." Then came a whole volley +of shouts, "Woodcock to the right," "Cock to the left," "Cock over." + +I looked up, and presently caught sight of one of the woodcocks coming +down the wind upon me like a flash. In that dim light I could not follow +all his movements as he zigzagged through the naked tree-tops; indeed I +could see him when his wings flitted up. Now he was passing me--_bang_, +and a flick of the wing, I had missed him; _bang_ again. Surely he was +down; no, there he went to my left. + +"Cock to you," I shouted, stepping forward so as to get Quatermain +between me and the faint angry light of the dying day, for I wanted to +see if he would "wipe my eye." I knew him to be a wonderful shot, but I +thought that cock would puzzle him. + +I saw him raise his gun ever so little and bend forward, and at that +moment out flashed two woodcocks into the open, the one I had missed to +his right, and the other to his left. + +At the same time a fresh shout arose of, "Woodcock over," and looking +down the spinney I saw a third bird high up in the air, being blown +along like a brown and whirling leaf straight over Quatermain's head. +And then followed the prettiest little bit of shooting that I ever saw. +The bird to the right was flying low, not ten yards from the line of +a hedgerow, and Quatermain took him first because he would become +invisible the soonest of any. Indeed, nobody who had not his hawk's eyes +could have seen to shoot at all. But he saw the bird well enough to kill +it dead as a stone. Then turning sharply, he pulled on the second bird +at about forty-five yards, and over he went. By this time the third +woodcock was nearly over him, and flying very high, straight down the +wind, a hundred feet up or more, I should say. I saw him glance at it as +he opened his gun, threw out the right cartridge and slipped in another, +turning round as he did so. By this time the cock was nearly fifty yards +away from him, and travelling like a flash. Lifting his gun he fired +after it, and, wonderful as the shot was, killed it dead. A tearing gust +of wind caught the dead bird, and blew it away like a leaf torn from an +oak, so that it fell a hundred and thirty yards off or more. + +"I say, Quatermain," I said to him when the beaters were up, "do you +often do this sort of thing?" + +"Well," he answered, with a dry smile, "the last time I had to load +three shots as quickly as that was at rather larger game. It was at +elephants. I killed them all three as dead as I killed those woodcocks; +but it very nearly went the other way, I can tell you; I mean that they +very nearly killed me." + +Just at that moment the keeper came up, "Did you happen to get one of +them there cocks, sir?" he said, with the air of a man who did not in +the least expect an answer in the affirmative. + +"Well, yes, Jeffries," answered Quatermain; "you will find one of them +by the hedge, and another about fifty yards out by the plough there to +the left----" + +The keeper had turned to go, looking a little astonished, when +Quatermain called him back. + +"Stop a bit, Jeffries," he said. "You see that pollard about one hundred +and forty yards off? Well, there should be another woodcock down in a +line with it, about sixty paces out in the field." + +"Well, if that bean't the very smartest bit of shooting," murmured +Jeffries, and departed. + +After that we went home, and in due course Sir Henry Curtis and Captain +Good arrived for dinner, the latter arrayed in the tightest and most +ornamental dress-suit I ever saw. I remember that the waistcoat was +adorned with five pink coral buttons. + +It was a very pleasant dinner. Old Quatermain was in an excellent +humour; induced, I think, by the recollection of his triumph over the +doubting Jeffries. Good, too, was full of anecdotes. He told us a most +miraculous story of how he once went shooting ibex in Kashmir. These +ibex, according to Good, he stalked early and late for four entire days. +At last on the morning of the fifth day he succeeded in getting within +range of the flock, which consisted of a magnificent old ram with horns +so long that I am afraid to mention their measure, and five or six +females. Good crawled upon his stomach, painfully taking shelter behind +rocks, till he was within two hundred yards; then he drew a fine bead +upon the old ram. At this moment, however, a diversion occurred. Some +wandering native of the hills appeared upon a distant mountain top. The +females turned, and rushing over a rock vanished from Good's ken. But +the old ram took a bolder course. In front of him stretched a mighty +crevasse at least thirty feet in width. He went at it with a bound. +Whilst he was in mid-air Good fired, and killed him dead. The ram turned +a complete somersault in space, and fell in such fashion that his horns +hooked themselves upon a big projection of the opposite cliffs. There he +hung, till Good, after a long and painful detour, gracefully dropped a +lasso over him and fished him up. + +This moving tale of wild adventure was received with undeserved +incredulity. + +"Well," said Good, "if you fellows won't believe my story when I tell +it--a perfectly true story mind--perhaps one of you will give us a +better; I'm not particular if it is true or not." And he lapsed into a +dignified silence. + +"Now, Quatermain," I said, "don't let Good beat you, let us hear how you +killed those elephants you were talking about this evening just after +you shot the woodcocks." + +"Well," said Quatermain, dryly, and with something like a twinkle in +his brown eyes, "it is very hard fortune for a man to have to follow on +Good's 'spoor.' Indeed if it were not for that running giraffe which, as +you will remember, Curtis, we saw Good bowl over with a Martini rifle +at three hundred yards, I should almost have said that this was an +impossible tale." + +Here Good looked up with an air of indignant innocence. + +"However," he went on, rising and lighting his pipe, "if you fellows +like, I will spin you a yarn. I was telling one of you the other night +about those three lions and how the lioness finished my unfortunate +'voorlooper,' Jim-Jim, the boy whom we buried in the bread-bag. + +"Well, after this little experience I thought that I would settle down a +bit, so I entered upon a venture with a man who, being of a speculative +mind, had conceived the idea of running a store at Pretoria upon +strictly cash principles. The arrangement was that I should find +the capital and he the experience. Our partnership was not of a long +duration. The Boers refused to pay cash, and at the end of four months +my partner had the capital and I had the experience. After this I came +to the conclusion that store-keeping was not in my line, and having +four hundred pounds left, I sent my boy Harry to a school in Natal, and +buying an outfit with what remained of the money, started upon a big +trip. + +"This time I determined to go further afield than I had ever been +before; so I took a passage for a few pounds in a trading brig that +ran between Durban and Delagoa Bay. From Delagoa Bay I marched inland +accompanied by twenty porters, with the idea of striking up north, +towards the Limpopo, and keeping parallel to the coast, but at a +distance of about one hundred and fifty miles from it. For the first +twenty days of our journey we suffered a good deal from fever, that is, +my men did, for I think that I am fever proof. Also I was hard put to +it to keep the camp in meat, for although the country proved to be very +sparsely populated, there was but little game about. Indeed, during all +that time I hardly killed anything larger than a waterbuck, and, as you +know, waterbuck's flesh is not very appetising food. On the twentieth +day, however, we came to the banks of a largish river, the Gonooroo it +was called. This I crossed, and then struck inland towards a great range +of mountains, the blue crests of which we could see lying on the distant +heavens like a shadow, a continuation, as I believe, of the Drakensberg +range that skirts the coast of Natal. From this main range a great spur +shoots out some fifty miles or so towards the coast, ending abruptly in +one tremendous peak. This spur I discovered separated the territories of +two chiefs named Nala and Wambe, Wambe's territory being to the north, +and Nala's to the south. Nala ruled a tribe of bastard Zulus called +the Butiana, and Wambe a much larger tribe, called the Matuku, which +presents marked Bantu characteristics. For instance, they have doors and +verandahs to their huts, work skins perfectly, and wear a waistcloth and +not a moocha. At this time the Butiana were more or less subject to +the Matuku, having been surprised by them some twenty years before +and mercilessly slaughtered down. The tribe was now recovering itself, +however, and as you may imagine, it did not love the Matuku. + +"Well, I heard as I went along that elephants were very plentiful in the +dense forests which lie upon the slopes and at the foot of the mountains +that border Wambe's territory. Also I heard a very ill report of that +worthy himself, who lived in a kraal upon the side of the mountain, +which was so strongly fortified as to be practically impregnable. It was +said that he was the most cruel chief in this part of Africa, and that +he had murdered in cold blood an entire party of English gentlemen, who, +some seven years before, had gone into his country to hunt elephants. +They took an old friend of mine with them as guide, John Every by name, +and often had I mourned over his untimely death. All the same, Wambe +or no Wambe, I determined to hunt elephants in his country. I never was +afraid of natives, and I was not going to show the white feather now. I +am a bit of a fatalist, as you fellows know, so I came to the conclusion +that if it was fated that Wambe should send me to join my old friend +John Every, I should have to go, and there was an end of it. Meanwhile, +I meant to hunt elephants with a peaceful heart. + +"On the third day from the date of our sighting the great peak, we found +ourselves beneath its shadow. Still following the course of the river +which wound through the forests at the base of the peak, we entered the +territory of the redoubtable Wambe. This, however, was not accomplished +without a certain difference of opinion between my bearers and myself, +for when we reached the spot where Wambe's boundary was supposed to run, +the bearers sat down and emphatically refused to go a step further. I +sat down too, and argued with them, putting my fatalistic views before +them as well as I was able. But I could not persuade them to look at +the matter in the same light. 'At present,' they said, 'their skins were +whole; if they went into Wambe's country without his leave they would +soon be like a water-eaten leaf. It was very well for me to say that +this would be Fate. Fate no doubt might be walking about in Wambe's +country, but while they stopped outside they would not meet him.' + +"'Well,' I said to Gobo, my head man, 'and what do you mean to do?' + +"'We mean to go back to the coast, Macumazahn,' he answered insolently. + +"'Do you?' I replied, for my bile was stirred. 'At any rate, Mr. Gobo, +you and one or two others will never get there; see here, my friend,' +and I took a repeating rifle and sat myself comfortably down, resting my +back against a tree--'I have just breakfasted, and I had as soon spend +the day here as anywhere else. Now if you or any of those men walk one +step back from here, and towards the coast, I shall fire at you; and you +know that I don't miss.' + +"The man fingered the spear he was carrying--luckily all my guns were +stacked against the tree--and then turned as though to walk away, the +others keeping their eyes fixed upon him all the while. I rose and +covered him with the rifle, and though he kept up a brave appearance of +unconcern, I saw that he was glancing nervously at me all the time. When +he had gone about twenty yards I spoke very quietly-- + +"'Now, Gobo,' I said, 'come back, or I shall fire.' + +"Of course this was taking a very high hand; I had no real right to kill +Gobo or anybody else because they objected to run the risk of death by +entering the territory of a hostile chief. But I felt that if I wished +to keep up any authority it was absolutely necessary that I should push +matters to the last extremity short of actually shooting him. So I sat +there, looking fierce as a lion, and keeping the sight of my rifle in +a dead line for Gobo's ribs. Then Gobo, feeling that the situation was +getting strained, gave in. + +"'Don't shoot, Boss,' he shouted, throwing up his hand, 'I will come +with you.' + +"'I thought you would,' I answered quietly; 'you see Fate walks about +outside Wambe's country as well as in it.' + +"After that I had no more trouble, for Gobo was the ringleader, and when +he collapsed the others collapsed also. Harmony being thus restored, we +crossed the line, and on the following morning I began shooting in good +earnest." + + + + +II--A MORNING'S SPORT + +"Moving some five or six miles round the base of the great peak of +which I have spoken, we came the same day to one of the fairest bits of +African country that I have seen outside of Kukuanaland. At this spot +the mountain spur that runs out at right angles to the great range, +which stretches its cloud-clad length north and south as far as the eye +can reach, sweeps inwards with a vast and splendid curve. This curve +measures some five-and-thirty miles from point to point, and across +its moon-like segment the river flashed, a silver line of light. On the +further side of the river is a measureless sea of swelling ground, a +natural park covered with great patches of bush--some of them being many +square miles in extent. These are separated one from another by glades +of grass land, broken here and there with clumps of timber trees; and in +some instances by curious isolated koppies, and even by single crags of +granite that start up into the air as though they were monuments carved +by man, and not tombstones set by nature over the grave of ages gone. On +the west this beautiful plain is bordered by the lonely mountain, from +the edge of which it rolls down toward the fever coast; but how far it +runs to the north I cannot say--eight days' journey, according to the +natives, when it is lost in an untravelled morass. + +"On the hither side of the river the scenery is different. Along the +edge of its banks, where the land is flat, are green patches of swamp. +Then comes a wide belt of beautiful grass land covered thickly with +game, and sloping up very gently to the borders of the forest, which, +beginning at about a thousand feet above the level of the plain, clothes +the mountain-side almost to its crest. In this forest grow great trees, +most of them of the yellow-wood species. Some of these trees are so +lofty, that a bird in their top branches would be out of range of an +ordinary shot gun. Another peculiar thing about them is, that they are +for the most part covered with a dense growth of the Orchilla moss; and +from this moss the natives manufacture a most excellent deep purple dye, +with which they stain tanned hides and also cloth, when they happen +to get any of the latter. I do not think that I ever saw anything more +remarkable than the appearance of one of these mighty trees festooned +from top to bottom with trailing wreaths of this sad-hued moss, in which +the wind whispers gently as it stirs them. At a distance it looks like +the gray locks of a Titan crowned with bright green leaves, and here and +there starred with the rich bloom of orchids. + +"The night of that day on which I had my little difference of opinion +with Gobo, we camped by the edge of this great forest, and on the +following morning at daylight I started out shooting. As we were short +of meat I determined to kill a buffalo, of which there were plenty +about, before looking for traces of elephants. Not more than half a mile +from camp we came across a trail broad as a cart-road, evidently made by +a great herd of buffaloes which had passed up at dawn from their feeding +ground in the marshes, to spend the day in the cool air of the uplands. +This trail I followed boldly; for such wind as there was blew straight +down the mountain-side, that is, from the direction in which the +buffaloes had gone, to me. About a mile further on the forest began to +be dense, and the nature of the trail showed me that I must be close to +my game. Another two hundred yards and the bush was so thick that, had +it not been for the trail, we could scarcely have passed through it. +As it was, Gobo, who carried my eight-bore rifle (for I had the +.570-express in my hand), and the other two men whom I had taken with +me, showed the very strongest dislike to going any further, pointing +out that there was 'no room to run away.' I told them that they need +not come unless they liked, but that I was certainly going on; and then, +growing ashamed, they came. + +"Another fifty yards, and the trail opened into a little glade. I knelt +down and peeped and peered, but no buffalo could I see. Evidently the +herd had broken up here--I knew that from the spoor--and penetrated the +opposite bush in little troops. I crossed the glade, and choosing one +line of spoor, followed it for some sixty yards, when it became clear +to me that I was surrounded by buffaloes; and yet so dense was the +cover that I could not see any. A few yards to my left I could hear one +rubbing its horns against a tree, while from my right came an occasional +low and throaty grunt which told me that I was uncomfortably near an +old bull. I crept on towards him with my heart in my mouth, as gently as +though I were walking upon eggs for a bet, lifting every little bit of +wood in my path, and placing it behind me lest it should crack and warn +the game. After me in single file came my three retainers, and I don't +know which of them looked the most frightened. Presently Gobo touched my +leg; I glanced round, and saw him pointing slantwise towards the left. +I lifted my head a little and peeped over a mass of creepers; beyond the +creepers was a dense bush of sharp-pointed aloes, of that kind of which +the leaves project laterally, and on the other side of the aloes, not +fifteen paces from us, I made out the horns, neck, and the ridge of the +back of a tremendous old bull. I took my eight-bore, and getting on +to my knee prepared to shoot him through the neck, taking my chance of +cutting his spine. I had already covered him as well as the aloe leaves +would allow, when he gave a kind of sigh and lay down. + +"I looked round in dismay. What was to be done now? I could not see +to shoot him lying down, even if my bullet would have pierced the +intervening aloes--which was doubtful--and if I stood up he would either +run away or charge me. I reflected, and came to the conclusion that the +only thing to do was to lie down also; for I did not fancy wandering +after other buffaloes in that dense bush. If a buffalo lies down, it +is clear that he must get up again some time, so it was only a case of +patience--'fighting the fight of sit down,' as the Zulus say. + +"Accordingly I sat down and lighted a pipe, thinking that the smell of +it might reach the buffalo and make him get up. But the wind was the +wrong way, and it did not; so when it was done I lit another. Afterwards +I had cause to regret that pipe. + +"Well, we squatted like this for between half and three quarters of an +hour, till at length I began to grow heartily sick of the performance. +It was about as dull a business as the last hour of a comic opera. +I could hear buffaloes snorting and moving all round, and see the +red-beaked tic birds flying up off their backs, making a kind of hiss +as they did so, something like that of the English missel-thrush, but I +could not see a single buffalo. As for my old bull, I think he must have +slept the sleep of the just, for he never even stirred. + +"Just as I was making up my mind that something must be done to save the +situation, my attention was attracted by a curious grinding noise. +At first I thought that it must be a buffalo chewing the cud, but was +obliged to abandon the idea because the noise was too loud. I shifted +myself round and stared through the cracks in the bush, in the direction +whence the sound seemed to come, and once I thought that I saw something +gray moving about fifty yards off, but could not make certain. Although +the grinding noise still continued I could see nothing more, so I gave +up thinking about it, and once again turned my attention to the buffalo. +Presently, however, something happened. Suddenly from about forty yards +away there came a tremendous snorting sound, more like that made by +an engine getting a heavy train under weigh than anything else in the +world. + +"'By Jove,' I thought, turning round in the direction from which the +grinding sound had come, 'that must be a rhinoceros, and he has got our +wind.' For, as you fellows know, there is no mistaking the sound made by +a rhinoceros when he gets wind of you. + +"Another second, and I heard a most tremendous crashing noise. Before I +could think what to do, before I could even get up, the bush behind me +seemed to burst asunder, and there appeared not eight yards from us, +the great horn and wicked twinkling eye of a charging rhinoceros. He +had winded us or my pipe, I do not know which, and, after the fashion +of these brutes, had charged up the scent. I could not rise, I could +not even get the gun up, I had no time. All that I was able to do was +to roll over as far out of the monster's path as the bush would allow. +Another second and he was over me, his great bulk towering above me +like a mountain, and, upon my word, I could not get his smell out of my +nostrils for a week. Circumstances impressed it on my memory, at least I +suppose so. His hot breath blew upon my face, one of his front feet just +missed my head, and his hind one actually trod upon the loose part of +my trousers and pinched a little bit of my skin. I saw him pass over me +lying as I was upon my back, and next second I saw something else. My +men were a little behind me, and therefore straight in the path of the +rhinoceros. One of them flung himself backwards into the bush, and thus +avoided him. The second with a wild yell sprung to his feet, and bounded +like an india-rubber ball right into the aloe bush, landing well among +the spikes. But the third, it was my friend Gobo, could not by any means +get away. He managed to gain his feet, and that was all. The rhinoceros +was charging with his head low; his horn passed between Gobo's legs, +and feeling something on his nose, he jerked it up. Away went Gobo, high +into the air. He turned a complete somersault at the apex of the curve, +and as he did so, I caught sight of his face. It was gray with terror, +and his mouth was wide open. Down he came, right on to the great brute's +back, and that broke his fall. Luckily for him the rhinoceros never +turned, but crashed straight through the aloe bush, only missing the man +who had jumped into it by about a yard. + +"Then followed a complication. The sleeping buffalo on the further side +of the bush, hearing the noise, sprang to his feet, and for a second, +not knowing what to do, stood still. At that instant the huge rhinoceros +blundered right on to him, and getting his horn beneath his stomach gave +him such a fearful dig that the buffalo was turned over on to his back, +while his assailant went a most amazing cropper over his carcase. In +another moment, however, the rhinoceros was up, and wheeling round +to the left, crashed through the bush down-hill and towards the open +country. + +"Instantly the whole place became alive with alarming sounds. In every +direction troops of snorting buffaloes charged through the forest, wild +with fright, while the injured bull on the further side of the bush +began to bellow like a mad thing. I lay quite still for a moment, +devoutly praying that none of the flying buffaloes would come my way. +Then when the danger lessened I got on to my feet, shook myself, and +looked round. One of my boys, he who had thrown himself backward into +the bush, was already half way up a tree--if heaven had been at the top +of it he could not have climbed quicker. Gobo was lying close to me, +groaning vigorously, but, as I suspected, quite unhurt; while from the +aloe bush into which No. 3 had bounded like a tennis ball, issued a +succession of the most piercing yells. + +"I looked, and saw that this unfortunate fellow was in a very tight +place. A great spike of aloe had run through the back of his skin +waist-belt, though without piercing his flesh, in such a fashion that it +was impossible for him to move, while within six feet of him the injured +buffalo bull, thinking, no doubt, that he was the aggressor, bellowed +and ramped to get at him, tearing the thick aloes with his great horns. +That no time was to be lost, if I wished to save the man's life, was +very clear. So seizing my eight-bore, which was fortunately uninjured, I +took a pace to the left, for the rhinoceros had enlarged the hole in the +bush, and aimed at the point of the buffalo's shoulder, since on account +of my position I could not get a fair side shot for the heart. As I did +so I saw that the rhinoceros had given the bull a tremendous wound +in the stomach, and that the shock of the encounter had put his left +hind-leg out of joint at the hip. I fired, and the bullet striking the +shoulder broke it, and knocked the buffalo down. I knew that he could +not get up any more, because he was now injured fore and aft, so +notwithstanding his terrific bellows I scrambled round to where he was. +There he lay glaring furiously and tearing up the soil with his horns. +Stepping up to within two yards of him I aimed at the vertebra of his +neck and fired. The bullet struck true, and with a thud he dropped his +head upon the ground, groaned, and died. + +"This little matter having been attended to with the assistance of +Gobo, who had now found his feet, I went on to extricate our unfortunate +companion from the aloe bush. This we found a thorny task, but at last +he was dragged forth uninjured, though in a very pious and prayerful +frame of mind. His 'spirit had certainly looked that way,' he said, +or he would now have been dead. As I never like to interfere with true +piety, I did not venture to suggest that his spirit had deigned to make +use of my eight-bore in his interest. + +"Having despatched this boy back to the camp to tell the bearers to come +and cut the buffalo up, I bethought me that I owed that rhinoceros a +grudge which I should love to repay. So without saying a word of what +was in my mind to Gobo, who was now more than ever convinced that Fate +walked about loose in Wambe's country, I just followed on the brute's +spoor. He had crashed through the bush till he reached the little glade. +Then moderating his pace somewhat, he had followed the glade down its +entire length, and once more turned to the right through the forest, +shaping his course for the open land that lies between the edge of the +bush and the river. Having followed him for a mile or so further, I +found myself quite on the open. I took out my glasses and searched +the plain. About a mile ahead was something brown--as I thought, the +rhinoceros. I advanced another quarter of a mile, and looked once +more--it was not the rhinoceros, but a big ant-heap. This was puzzling, +but I did not like to give it up, because I knew from his spoor that he +must be somewhere ahead. But as the wind was blowing straight from me +towards the line that he had followed, and as a rhinoceros can smell you +for about a mile, it would not, I felt, be safe to follow his trail +any further; so I made a detour of a mile and more, till I was nearly +opposite the ant-heap, and then once more searched the plain. It was no +good, I could see nothing of him, and was about to give it up and start +after some oryx I saw on the skyline, when suddenly at a distance of +about three hundred yards from the ant-heap, and on its further side, I +saw my rhino stand up in a patch of grass. + +"'Heavens!' I thought to myself, 'he's off again;' but no, after +standing staring for a minute or two he once more lay down. + +"Now I found myself in a quandary. As you know, a rhinoceros is a very +short-sighted brute, indeed his sight is as bad as his scent is good. +Of this fact he is perfectly aware, but he always makes the most of his +natural gifts. For instance, when he lies down he invariably does so +with his head down wind. Thus, if any enemy crosses his wind he will +still be able to escape, or attack him; and if, on the other hand, the +danger approaches up wind he will at least have a chance of seeing it. +Otherwise, by walking delicately, one might actually kick him up like a +partridge, if only the advance was made up wind. + +"Well, the point was, how on earth should I get within shot of this +rhinoceros? After much deliberation I determined to try a side approach, +thinking that in this way I might get a shoulder shot. Accordingly we +started in a crouching attitude, I first, Gobo holding on to my coat +tails, and the other boy on to Gobo's moocha. I always adopt this plan +when stalking big game, for if you follow any other system the bearers +will get out of line. We arrived within three hundred yards safely +enough, and then the real difficulties began. The grass had been +so closely eaten off by game that there was scarcely any cover. +Consequently it was necessary to go on to our hands and knees, which +in my case involved laying down the eight-bore at every step and then +lifting it up again. However, I wriggled along somehow, and if it had +not been for Gobo and his friend no doubt everything would have gone +well. But as you have, I dare say, observed, a native out stalking is +always of that mind which is supposed to actuate an ostrich--so long as +his head is hidden he seems to think that nothing else can be seen. So +it was in this instance, Gobo and the other boy crept along on their +hands and toes with their heads well down, but, though unfortunately +I did not notice it till too late, bearing the fundamental portions of +their frames high in the air. Now all animals are quite as suspicious of +this end of mankind as they are of his face, and of that fact I soon had +a proof. Just when we had got within about two hundred yards, and I was +congratulating myself that I had not had this long crawl with the sun +beating on the back of my neck like a furnace for nothing, I heard the +hissing note of the rhinoceros birds, and up flew four or five of them +from the brute's back, where they had been comfortably employed in +catching tics. Now this performance on the part of the birds is to a +rhinoceros what the word 'cave' is to a schoolboy--it puts him on the +_qui vive_ at once. Before the birds were well in the air I saw the +grass stir. + +"'Down you go,' I whispered to the boys, and as I did so the rhinoceros +got up and glared suspiciously around. But he could see nothing, indeed +if we had been standing up I doubt if he would have seen us at that +distance; so he merely gave two or three sniffs and then lay down, his +head still down wind, the birds once more settling on his back. + +"But it was clear to me that he was sleeping with one eye open, being +generally in a suspicious and unchristian frame of mind, and that it +was useless to proceed further on this stalk, so we quietly withdrew +to consider the position and study the ground. The results were not +satisfactory. There was absolutely no cover about except the ant-heap, +which was some three hundred yards from the rhinoceros upon his up-wind +side. I knew that if I tried to stalk him in front I should fail, and so +I should if I attempted to do so from the further side--he or the birds +would see me; so I came to a conclusion: I would go to the ant-heap, +which would give him my wind, and instead of stalking him I would let +him stalk me. It was a bold step, and one which I should never advise a +hunter to take, but somehow I felt as though rhino and I must play the +hand out. + +"I explained my intentions to the men, who both held up their arms in +horror. Their fears for my safety were a little mitigated, however, when +I told them that I did not expect them to come with me. + +"Gobo breathed a prayer that I might not meet Fate walking about, and +the other one sincerely trusted that my spirit might look my way when +the rhinoceros charged, and then they both departed to a place of +safety. + +"Taking my eight-bore, and half-a-dozen spare cartridges in my pocket, +I made a detour, and reaching the ant-heap in safety lay down. For a +moment the wind had dropped, but presently a gentle puff of air passed +over me, and blew on towards the rhinoceros. By the way, I wonder what +it is that smells so strong about a man? Is it his body or his breath? +I have never been able to make out, but I saw it stated the other day, +that in the duck decoys the man who is working the ducks holds a little +piece of burning turf before his mouth, and that if he does this they +cannot smell him, which looks as though it were the breath. Well, +whatever it was about me that attracted his attention, the rhinoceros +soon smelt me, for within half a minute after the puff of wind had +passed me he was on his legs, and turning round to get his head up wind. +There he stood for a few seconds and sniffed, and then he began to move, +first of all at a trot, then, as the scent grew stronger, at a furious +gallop. On he came, snorting like a runaway engine, with his tail stuck +straight up in the air; if he had seen me lie down there he could not +have made a better line. It was rather nervous work, I can tell you, +lying there waiting for his onslaught, for he looked like a mountain of +flesh. I determined, however, not to fire till I could plainly see his +eye, for I think that rule always gives one the right distance for big +game; so I rested my rifle on the ant-heap and waited for him, kneeling. +At last, when he was about forty yards away, I saw that the time had +come, and aiming straight for the middle of the chest I pulled. + +"_Thud_ went the heavy bullet, and with a tremendous snort over rolled +the rhinoceros beneath its shock, just like a shot rabbit. But if I had +thought that he was done for I was mistaken, for in another second he +was up again, and coming at me as hard as ever, only with his head held +low. I waited till he was within ten yards, in the hope that he would +expose his chest, but he would do nothing of the sort; so I just had to +fire at his head with the left barrel, and take my chance. Well, as +luck would have it, of course the animal put its horn in the way of the +bullet, which cut clean through it about three inches above the root and +then glanced off into space. + +"After that things got rather serious. My gun was empty and the +rhinoceros was rapidly arriving, so rapidly indeed that I came to the +conclusion that I had better make way for him. Accordingly I jumped +to my feet and ran to the right as hard as I could go. As I did so he +arrived full tilt, knocked my friendly ant-heap flat, and for the +third time that day went a most magnificent cropper. This gave me a few +seconds' start, and I ran down wind--my word, I did run! Unfortunately, +however, my modest retreat was observed, and the rhinoceros, as soon as +he had found his legs again, set to work to run after me. Now no man on +earth can run so fast as an irritated rhinoceros can gallop, and I knew +that he must soon catch me up. But having some slight experience of +this sort of thing, luckily for myself, I kept my head, and as I fled +I managed to open my rifle, get the old cartridges out, and put in two +fresh ones. To do this I was obliged to steady my pace a little, and by +the time that I had snapped the rifle to I heard the beast snorting and +thundering away within a few paces of my back. I stopped, and as I did +so rapidly cocked the rifle and slued round upon my heel. By this time +the brute was within six or seven yards of me, but luckily his head was +up. I lifted the rifle and fired at him. It was a snap shot, but the +bullet struck him in the chest within three inches of the first, and +found its way into his lungs. It did not stop him, however, so all I +could do was to bound to one side, which I did with surprising activity, +and as he brushed past me to fire the other barrel into his side. That +did for him. The ball passed in behind the shoulder and right through +his heart. He fell over on to his side, gave one more awful squeal--a +dozen pigs could not have made such a noise--and promptly died, keeping +his wicked eyes wide open all the time. + +"As for me, I blew my nose, and going up to the rhinoceros sat on his +head, and reflected that I had done a capital morning's shooting." + + + + +III--THE FIRST ROUND + +"After this, as it was now midday, and I had killed enough meat, we +marched back triumphantly to camp, where I proceeded to concoct a stew +of buffalo beef and compressed vegetables. When this was ready we ate +the stew, and then I took a nap. About four o'clock, however, Gobo +woke me up, and told me that the head man of one of Wambe's kraals had +arrived to see me. I ordered him to be brought up, and presently he +came, a little, wizened, talkative old man, with a waistcloth round his +middle, and a greasy, frayed kaross made of the skins of rock rabbits +over his shoulders. + +"I told him to sit down, and then abused him roundly. 'What did he +mean,' I asked, 'by disturbing me in this rude way? How did he dare to +cause a person of my quality and evident importance to be awakened in +order to interview his entirely contemptible self?' + +"I spoke thus because I knew that it would produce an impression on him. +Nobody, except a really great man, he would argue, would dare to speak +to him in that fashion. Most savages are desperate bullies at heart, and +look on insolence as a sign of power. + +"The old man instantly collapsed. He was utterly overcome, he said; +his heart was split in two, and well realized the extent of his +misbehaviour. But the occasion was very urgent. He heard that a mighty +hunter was in the neighbourhood, a beautiful white man, how beautiful +he could not have imagined had he not seen (this to me!), and he came to +beg his assistance. The truth was, that three bull elephants such as no +man ever saw had for years been the terror of their kraal, which was +but a small place--a cattle kraal of the great chief Wambe's, where they +lived to keep the cattle. And now of late these elephants had done them +much damage; but last night they had destroyed a whole patch of mealie +land, and he feared that if they came back they would all starve next +season for want of food. Would the mighty white man then be pleased to +come and kill the elephants? It would be easy for him to do--oh, most +easy! It was only necessary that he should hide himself in a tree, for +there was a full moon, and then when the elephants appeared he would +speak to them with the gun, and they would fall down dead, and there +would be an end of their troubling. + +"Of course I hummed and hawed, and made a great favour of consenting to +his proposal, though really I was delighted to have such a chance. One +of the conditions that I made was that a messenger should at once be +despatched to Wambe, whose kraal was two days' journey from where I was, +telling him that I proposed to come and pay my respects to him in a few +days, and to ask his formal permission to shoot in his country. Also +I intimated that I was prepared to present him with 'hongo,' that is, +blackmail, and that I hoped to do a little trade with him in ivory, of +which I heard he had a great quantity. + +"This message the old gentleman promised to despatch at once, though +there was something about his manner which showed me that he was +doubtful as to how it would be received. After that we struck our camp +and moved on to the kraal, which we reached about an hour before sunset. +This kraal was a collection of huts surrounded by a slight thorn-fence, +perhaps there were ten of them in all. It was situated in a kloof of the +mountain down which a rivulet flowed. The kloof was densely wooded, but +for some distance above the kraal it was free from bush, and here on the +rich deep ground brought down by the rivulet were the cultivated lands, +in extent somewhere about twenty or twenty-five acres. On the kraal side +of these lands stood a single hut, that served for a mealie store, which +at the moment was used as a dwelling-place by an old woman, the first +wife of our friend the head man. + +"It appears that this lady, having had some difference of opinion with +her husband about the extent of authority allowed to a younger and more +amiable wife, had refused to dwell in the kraal any more, and, by way +of marking her displeasure, had taken up her abode among the mealies. As +the issue will show, she was, it happened, cutting off her nose to spite +her face. + +"Close by this hut grew a large baobab tree. A glance at the mealie +grounds showed me that the old head man had not exaggerated the mischief +done by the elephants to his crops, which were now getting ripe. Nearly +half of the entire patch was destroyed. The great brutes had eaten all +they could, and the rest they had trampled down. I went up to their +spoor and started back in amazement--never had I seen such a spoor +before. It was simply enormous, more especially that of one old bull, +that carried, so said the natives, but a single tusk. One might have +used any of the footprints for a hip-bath. + +"Having taken stock of the position, my next step was to make +arrangements for the fray. The three bulls, according to the natives, +had been spoored into the dense patch of bush above the kloof. Now it +seemed to me very probable that they would return to-night to feed on +the remainder of the ripening mealies. If so, there was a bright moon, +and it struck me that by the exercise of a little ingenuity I might bag +one or more of them without exposing myself to any risk, which, having +the highest respect for the aggressive powers of bull elephants, was a +great consideration to me. + +"This then was my plan. To the right of the huts as you look up the +kloof, and commanding the mealie lands, stands the baobab tree that I +have mentioned. Into that baobab tree I made up my mind to go. Then +if the elephants appeared I should get a shot at them. I announced my +intentions to the head man of the kraal, who was delighted. 'Now,' +he said, 'his people might sleep in peace, for while the mighty white +hunter sat aloft like a spirit watching over the welfare of his kraal +what was there to fear?' + +"I told him that he was an ungrateful brute to think of sleeping in +peace while, perched like a wounded vulture on a tree, I watched for his +welfare in wakeful sorrow; and once more he collapsed, and owned that my +words were 'sharp but just.' + +"However, as I have said, confidence was completely restored; and that +evening everybody in the kraal, including the superannuated victim of +jealousy in the little hut where the mealie cobs were stored, went to +bed with a sense of sweet security from elephants and all other animals +that prowl by night. + +"For my part, I pitched my camp below the kraal; and then, having +procured a beam of wood from the head man--rather a rotten one, by the +way--I set it across two boughs that ran out laterally from the baobab +tree, at a height of about twenty-five feet from the ground, in such +fashion that I and another man could sit upon it with our legs hanging +down, and rest our backs against the bole of the tree. This done I went +back to the camp and ate my supper. About nine o'clock, half-an-hour +before the moon-rise, I summoned Gobo, who, thinking that he had seen +about enough of the delights of big game hunting for that day, did not +altogether relish the job; and, despite his remonstrances, gave him my +eight-bore to carry, I having the .570-express. Then we set out for +the tree. It was very dark, but we found it without difficulty, though +climbing it was a more complicated matter. However, at last we got up +and sat down, like two little boys on a form that is too high for +them, and waited. I did not dare to smoke, because I remembered the +rhinoceros, and feared that the elephants might wind the tobacco if they +should come my way, and this made the business more wearisome, so I fell +to thinking and wondering at the completeness of the silence. + +"At last the moon came up, and with it a moaning wind, at the breath of +which the silence began to whisper mysteriously. Lonely enough in the +newborn light looked the wide expanse of mountain, plain, and forest, +more like some vision of a dream, some reflection from a fair world of +peace beyond our ken, than the mere face of garish earth made soft with +sleep. Indeed, had it not been for the fact that I was beginning to find +the log on which I sat very hard, I should have grown quite sentimental +over the beautiful sight; but I will defy anybody to become sentimental +when seated in the damp, on a very rough beam of wood, and half-way up +a tree. So I merely made a mental note that it was a particularly lovely +night, and turned my attention to the prospect of elephants. But no +elephants came, and after waiting for another hour or so, I think that +what between weariness and disgust, I must have dropped into a gentle +doze. Presently I awoke with a start. Gobo, who was perched close to me, +but as far off as the beam would allow--for neither white man nor black +like the aroma which each vows is the peculiar and disagreeable property +of the other--was faintly, very faintly clicking his forefinger against +his thumb. I knew by this signal, a very favourite one among native +hunters and gun-bearers, that he must have seen or heard something. I +looked at his face, and saw that he was staring excitedly towards the +dim edge of the bush beyond the deep green line of mealies. I stared +too, and listened. Presently I heard a soft large sound as though a +giant were gently stretching out his hands and pressing back the ears +of standing corn. Then came a pause, and then, out into the open +majestically stalked the largest elephant I ever saw or ever shall see. +Heavens! what a monster he was; and how the moonlight gleamed upon his +one splendid tusk--for the other was missing--as he stood among the +mealies gently moving his enormous ears to and fro, and testing the +wind with his trunk. While I was still marvelling at his girth, and +speculating upon the weight of that huge tusk, which I swore should be +my tusk before very long, out stepped a second bull and stood beside +him. He was not quite so tall, but he seemed to me to be almost +thicker-set than the first; and even in that light I could see that both +his tusks were perfect. Another pause, and the third emerged. He was +shorter than either of the others, but higher in the shoulder than No. +2; and when I tell you, as I afterwards learnt from actual measurement, +that the smallest of these mighty bulls measured twelve feet one and a +half inches at the shoulder, it will give you some idea of their size. +The three formed into line and stood still for a minute, the one-tusked +bull gently caressing the elephant on the left with his trunk. + +"Then they began to feed, walking forward and slightly to the right as +they gathered great bunches of the sweet mealies and thrust them into +their mouths. All this time they were more than a hundred and twenty +yards away from me (this I knew, because I had paced the distances from +the tree to various points), much too far to allow of my attempting +a shot at them in that uncertain light. They fed in a semicircle, +gradually drawing round towards the hut near my tree, in which the corn +was stored and the old woman slept. + +"This went on for between an hour and an hour and a half, till, what +between excitement and hope, that maketh the heart sick, I grew so +weary that I was actually contemplating a descent from the tree and a +moonlight stalk. Such an act in ground so open would have been that of a +stark staring lunatic, and that I should even have been contemplating it +will show you the condition of my mind. But everything comes to him who +knows how to wait, and sometimes too to him who doesn't, and so at last +those elephants, or rather one of them, came to me. + +"After they had fed their fill, which was a very large one, the noble +three stood once more in line some seventy yards to the left of the hut, +and on the edge of the cultivated lands, or in all about eighty-five +yards from where I was perched. Then at last the one with a single tusk +made a peculiar rattling noise in his trunk, just as though he were +blowing his nose, and without more ado began to walk deliberately toward +the hut where the old woman slept. I made my rifle ready and glanced up +at the moon, only to discover that a new complication was looming in the +immediate future. I have said that a wind rose with the moon. Well, the +wind brought rain-clouds along its track. Several light ones had already +lessened the light for a little while, though without obscuring it, and +now two more were coming up rapidly, both of them very black and dense. +The first cloud was small and long, and the one behind big and broad. I +remember noticing that the pair of them bore a most comical resemblance +to a dray drawn by a very long raw-boned horse. As luck would have it, +just as the elephant arrived within twenty-five yards or so of me, the +head of the horse-cloud floated over the face of the moon, rendering +it impossible for me to fire. In the faint twilight which remained, +however, I could just make out the gray mass of the great brute still +advancing towards the hut. Then the light went altogether and I had to +trust to my ears. I heard him fumbling with his trunk, apparently at the +roof of the hut; next came a sound as of straw being drawn out, and then +for a little while there was complete silence. + +"The cloud began to pass; I could see the outline of the elephant; he +was standing with his head quite over the top of the hut. But I could +not see his trunk, and no wonder, for it was _inside the hut_. He had +thrust it through the roof, and, attracted no doubt by the smell of the +mealies, was groping about with it inside. It was growing light now, and +I got my rifle ready, when suddenly there was a most awful yell, and +I saw the trunk reappear, and in its mighty fold the old woman who +had been sleeping in the hut. Out she came through the hole like a +periwinkle on the point of a pin, still wrapped up in her blanket, +and with her skinny arms and legs stretched to the four points of the +compass, and as she did so, gave that most alarming screech. I really +don't know who was the most frightened, she, or I, or the elephant. At +any rate the last was considerably startled; he had been fishing +for mealies--the old woman was a mere accident, and one that greatly +discomposed his nerves. He gave a sort of trumpet, and threw her away +from him right into the crown of a low mimosa tree, where she stuck +shrieking like a metropolitan engine. The old bull lifted his tail, and +flapping his great ears prepared for flight. I put up my eight-bore, and +aiming hastily at the point of his shoulder (for he was broadside on), I +fired. The report rang out like thunder, making a thousand echoes in +the quiet hills. I saw him go down all of a heap as though he were stone +dead. Then, alas! whether it was the kick of the heavy rifle, or the +excited bump of that idiot Gobo, or both together, or merely an unhappy +coincidence, I do not know, but the rotten beam broke and I went down +too, landing flat at the foot of the tree upon a certain humble portion +of the human frame. The shock was so severe that I felt as though all +my teeth were flying through the roof of my mouth, but although I sat +slightly stunned for a few seconds, luckily for me I fell light, and was +not in any way injured. + +"Meanwhile the elephant began to scream with fear and fury, and, +attracted by his cries, the other two charged up. I felt for my rifle; +it was not there. Then I remembered that I had rested it on a fork of +the bough in order to fire, and doubtless there it remained. My position +was now very unpleasant. I did not dare to try and climb the tree again, +which, shaken as I was, would have been a task of some difficulty, +because the elephants would certainly see me, and Gobo, who had clung to +a bough, was still aloft with the other rifle. I could not run because +there was no shelter near. Under these circumstances I did the only +thing feasible, clambered round the trunk as softly as possible, and +keeping one eye on the elephants, whispered to Gobo to bring down the +rifle, and awaited the development of the situation. I knew that if +the elephants did not see me--which, luckily, they were too enraged to +do--they would not smell me, for I was up-wind. Gobo, however, either +did not, or, preferring the safety of the tree, would not hear me. He +said the former, but I believed the latter, for I knew that he was not +enough of a sportsman to really enjoy shooting elephants by moonlight in +the open. So there I was behind my tree, dismayed, unarmed, but highly +interested, for I was witnessing a remarkable performance. + +"When the two other bulls arrived the wounded elephant on the ground +ceased to scream, but began to make a low moaning noise, and to gently +touch the wound near his shoulder, from which the blood was literally +spouting. The other two seemed to understand; at any rate, they did +this. Kneeling down on either side, they placed their trunks and tusks +underneath him, and, aided by his own efforts, with one great lift got +him on to his feet. Then leaning against him on either side to support +him, they marched off at a walk in the direction of the village.[*] It +was a pitiful sight, and even then it made me feel a brute. + + [*] The Editor would have been inclined to think that in + relating this incident Mr. Quatermain was making himself + interesting at the expense of the exact truth, did it not + happen that a similar incident has come within his + knowledge.--Editor. + +"Presently, from a walk, as the wounded elephant gathered himself +together a little, they broke into a trot, and after that I could follow +them no longer with my eyes, for the second black cloud came up over the +moon and put her out, as an extinguisher puts out a dip. I say with my +eyes, but my ears gave me a very fair notion of what was going on. When +the cloud came up the three terrified animals were heading directly for +the kraal, probably because the way was open and the path easy. I fancy +that they grew confused in the darkness, for when they came to the kraal +fence they did not turn aside, but crashed straight through it. Then +there were 'times,' as the Irish servant-girl says in the American book. +Having taken the fence, they thought that they might as well take the +kraal also, so they just ran over it. One hive-shaped hut was turned +quite over on to its top, and when I arrived upon the scene the people +who had been sleeping there were bumbling about inside like bees +disturbed at night, while two more were crushed flat, and a third had +all its side torn out. Oddly enough, however, nobody was hurt, though +several people had a narrow escape of being trodden to death. + +"On arrival I found the old head man in a state painfully like that +favoured by Greek art, dancing about in front of his ruined abodes as +vigorously as though he had just been stung by a scorpion. + +"I asked him what ailed him, and he burst out into a flood of abuse. +He called me a Wizard, a Sham, a Fraud, a Bringer of bad luck! I had +promised to kill the elephants, and I had so arranged things that the +elephants had nearly killed him, etc. + +"This, still smarting, or rather aching, as I was from that most +terrific bump, was too much for my feelings, so I just made a rush at +my friend, and getting him by the ear, I banged his head against the +doorway of his own hut, which was all that was left of it. + +"'You wicked old scoundrel,' I said, 'you dare to complain about your +own trifling inconveniences, when you gave me a rotten beam to sit on, +and thereby delivered me to the fury of the elephant' (_bump! bump! +bump!_), 'when your own wife' (_bump!_) 'has just been dragged out +of her hut' (_bump!_) 'like a snail from its shell, and thrown by the +Earth-shaker into a tree' (_bump! bump!_). + +"'Mercy, my father, mercy!' gasped the old fellow. 'Truly I have done +amiss--my heart tells me so.' + +"'I should hope it did, you old villain' (_bump!_). + +"'Mercy, great white man! I thought the log was sound. But what says the +unequalled chief--is the old woman, my wife, indeed dead? Ah, if she is +dead all may yet prove to have been for the very best;' and he clasped +his hands and looked up piously to heaven, in which the moon was once +more shining brightly. + +"I let go his ear and burst out laughing, the whole scene and his devout +aspirations for the decease of the partner of his joys, or rather woes, +were so intensely ridiculous. + +"'No, you old iniquity,' I answered; 'I left her in the top of a +thorn-tree, screaming like a thousand bluejays. The elephant put her +there.' + +"'Alas! alas!' he said, 'surely the back of the ox is shaped to the +burden. Doubtless, my father, she will come down when she is tired;' and +without troubling himself further about the matter, he began to blow at +the smouldering embers of the fire. + +"And, as a matter of fact, she did appear a few minutes later, +considerably scratched and startled, but none the worse. + +"After that I made my way to my little camp, which, fortunately, the +elephants had not walked over, and wrapping myself up in a blanket, was +soon fast asleep. + +"And so ended my first round with those three elephants." + + + + +IV--THE LAST ROUND + +"On the morrow I woke up full of painful recollections, and not without +a certain feeling of gratitude to the Powers above that I was there +to wake up. Yesterday had been a tempestuous day; indeed, what between +buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephant, it had been very tempestuous. Having +realized this fact, I next bethought me of those magnificent tusks, and +instantly, early as it was, broke the tenth commandment. I coveted my +neighbours tusks, if an elephant could be said to be my neighbour _de +jure_, as certainly, so recently as the previous night, he had been _de +facto_--a much closer neighbour than I cared for, indeed. Now when you +covet your neighbour's goods, the best thing, if not the most moral +thing, to do is to enter his house as a strong man armed, and take them. +I was not a strong man, but having recovered my eight-bore I was +armed, and so was the other strong man--the elephant with the tusks. +Consequently I prepared for a struggle to the death. In other words, I +summoned my faithful retainers, and told them that I was now going to +follow those elephants to the edge of the world, if necessary. They +showed a certain bashfulness about the business, but they did not +gainsay me, because they dared not. Ever since I had prepared with all +due solemnity to execute the rebellious Gobo they had conceived a great +respect for me. + +"So I went up to bid adieu to the old head man, whom I found alternately +contemplating the ruins of his kraal and, with the able assistance of +his last wife, thrashing the jealous lady who had slept in the mealie +hut, because she was, as he declared, the fount of all his sorrows. + +"Leaving them to work a way through their domestic differences, I levied +a supply of vegetable food from the kraal in consideration of services +rendered, and left them with my blessing. I do not know how they settled +matters, because I have not seen them since. + +"Then I started on the spoor of the three bulls. For a couple of miles +or so below the kraal--as far, indeed, as the belt of swamp that borders +the river--the ground is at this spot rather stony, and clothed with +scattered bushes. Rain had fallen towards the daybreak, and this fact, +together with the nature of the soil, made spooring a very difficult +business. The wounded bull had indeed bled freely, but the rain had +washed the blood off the leaves and grass, and the ground being so +rough and hard did not take the footmarks so clearly as was convenient. +However, we got along, though slowly, partly by the spoor, and partly +by carefully lifting leaves and blades of grass, and finding blood +underneath them, for the blood gushing from a wounded animal often falls +upon their inner surfaces, and then, of course, unless the rain is very +heavy, it is not washed away. It took us something over an hour and a +half to reach the edge of the marsh, but once there our task became +much easier, for the soft soil showed plentiful evidences of the great +brutes' passage. Threading our way through the swampy land, we came +at last to a ford of the river, and here we could see where the poor +wounded animal had lain down in the mud and water in the hope of easing +himself of his pain, and could see also how his two faithful companions +had assisted him to rise again. We crossed the ford, and took up the +spoor on the further side, and followed it into the marsh-like +land beyond. No rain had fallen on this side of the river, and the +blood-marks were consequently much more frequent. + +"All that day we followed the three bulls, now across open plains, and +now through patches of bush. They seemed to have travelled on almost +without stopping, and I noticed that as they went the wounded bull +recovered his strength a little. This I could see from his spoor, which +had become firmer, and also from the fact that the other two had ceased +to support him. At last evening closed in, and having travelled some +eighteen miles, we camped, thoroughly tired out. + +"Before dawn on the following day we were up, and the first break of +light found us once more on the spoor. About half-past five o'clock +we reached the place where the elephants had fed and slept. The +two unwounded bulls had taken their fill, as the condition of the +neighbouring bushes showed, but the wounded one had eaten nothing. He +had spent the night leaning against a good-sized tree, which his weight +had pushed out of the perpendicular. They had not long left this place, +and could not be very far ahead, especially as the wounded bull was now +again so stiff after his night's rest that for the first few miles the +other two had been obliged to support him. But elephants go very quick, +even when they seem to be travelling slowly, for shrub and creepers that +almost stop a man's progress are no hindrance to them. The three had +now turned to the left, and were travelling back again in a semicircular +line toward the mountains, probably with the idea of working round to +their old feeding grounds on the further side of the river. + +"There was nothing for it but to follow their lead, and accordingly +we followed with industry. Through all that long hot day did we tramp, +passing quantities of every sort of game, and even coming across the +spoor of other elephants. But, in spite of my men's entreaties, I would +not turn aside after these. I would have those mighty tusks or none. + +"By evening we were quite close to our game, probably within a quarter +of a mile, but the bush was dense, and we could see nothing of them, so +once more we must camp, thoroughly disgusted with our luck. That night, +just after the moon rose, while I was sitting smoking my pipe with my +back against a tree, I heard an elephant trumpet, as though something +had startled it, and not three hundred yards away. I was very tired, but +my curiosity overcame my weariness, so, without saying a word to any of +the men, all of whom were asleep, I took my eight-bore and a few spare +cartridges, and steered toward the sound. The game path which we had +been following all day ran straight on in the direction from which the +elephant had trumpeted. It was narrow, but well trodden, and the +light struck down upon it in a straight white line. I crept along it +cautiously for some two hundred yards, when it opened suddenly into a +most beautiful glade some hundred yards or more in width, wherein tall +grass grew and flat-topped trees stood singly. With the caution born of +long experience I watched for a few moments before I entered the glade, +and then I saw why the elephant had trumpeted. There in the middle of +the glade stood a large maned lion. He stood quite still, making a soft +purring noise, and waving his tail to and fro. Presently the grass about +forty yards on the hither side of him gave a wide ripple, and a lioness +sprang out of it like a flash, and bounded noiselessly up to the lion. +Reaching him, the great cat halted suddenly, and rubbed her head against +his shoulder. Then they both began to purr loudly, so loudly that I +believe that in the stillness one might have heard them two hundred +yards or more away. + +"After a time, while I was still hesitating what to do, either they got +a whiff of my wind, or they wearied of standing still, and determined +to start in search of game. At any rate, as though moved by a common +impulse, they bounded suddenly away, leap by leap, and vanished in the +depths of the forest to the left. I waited for a little while longer to +see if there were any more yellow skins about, and seeing none, came to +the conclusion that the lions must have frightened the elephants away, +and that I had taken my stroll for nothing. But just as I was turning +back I thought that I heard a bough break upon the further side of the +glade, and, rash as the act was, I followed the sound. I crossed the +glade as silently as my own shadow. On its further side the path went +on. Albeit with many fears, I went on too. The jungle growth was so +thick here that it almost met overhead, leaving so small a passage for +the light that I could scarcely see to grope my way along. Presently, +however, it widened, and then opened into a second glade slightly +smaller than the first, and there, on the further side of it, about +eighty yards from me, stood the three enormous elephants. + +"They stood thus:--Immediately opposite and facing me was the wounded +one-tusked bull. He was leaning his bulk against a dead thorn-tree, the +only one in the place, and looked very sick indeed. Near him stood the +second bull as though keeping a watch over him. The third elephant was +a good deal nearer to me and broadside on. While I was still staring at +them, this elephant suddenly walked off and vanished down a path in the +bush to the right. + +"There are now two things to be done--either I could go back to the camp +and advance upon the elephants at dawn, or I could attack them at once. +The first was, of course, by far the wiser and safer course. To engage +one elephant by moonlight and single-handed is a sufficiently rash +proceeding; to tackle three was little short of lunacy. But, on +the other hand, I knew that they would be on the march again before +daylight, and there might come another day of weary trudging before I +could catch them up, or they might escape me altogether. + +"'No,' I thought to myself, 'faint heart never won fair tusk. I'll risk +it, and have a slap at them. But how?' I could not advance across the +open, for they would see me; clearly the only thing to do was to creep +round in the shadow of the bush and try to come upon them so. So I +started. Seven or eight minutes of careful stalking brought me to the +mouth of the path down which the third elephant had walked. The other +two were now about fifty yards from me, and the nature of the wall of +bush was such that I could not see how to get nearer to them without +being discovered. I hesitated, and peeped down the path which the +elephant had followed. About five yards in, it took a turn round a +shrub. I thought that I would just have a look behind it, and advanced, +expecting that I should be able to catch a sight of the elephant's tail. +As it happened, however, I met his trunk coming round the corner. It is +very disconcerting to see an elephant's trunk when you expect to see his +tail, and for a moment I stood paralyzed almost under the vast brute's +head, for he was not five yards from me. He too halted, threw up his +trunk and trumpeted preparatory to a charge. I was in for it now, for +I could not escape either to the right or left, on account of the bush, +and I did not dare turn my back. So I did the only thing that I could +do--raised the rifle and fired at the black mass of his chest. It was +too dark for me to pick a shot; I could only brown him, as it were. + +"The shot rung out like thunder on the quiet air, and the elephant +answered it with a scream, then dropped his trunk and stood for a second +or two as still as though he had been cut in stone. I confess that I +lost my head; I ought to have fired my second barrel, but I did not. +Instead of doing so, I rapidly opened my rifle, pulled out the old +cartridge from the right barrel and replaced it. But before I could snap +the breech to, the bull was at me. I saw his great trunk fly up like a +brown beam, and I waited no longer. Turning, I fled for dear life, and +after me thundered the elephant. Right into the open glade I ran, and +then, thank Heaven, just as he was coming up with me the bullet took +effect on him. He had been shot right through the heart, or lungs, and +down he fell with a crash, stone dead. + +"But in escaping from Scylla I had run into the jaws of Charybdis. I +heard the elephant fall, and glanced round. Straight in front of me, +and not fifteen paces away, were the other two bulls. They were staring +about, and at that moment they caught sight of me. Then they came, the +pair of them--came like thunderbolts, and from different angles. I had +only time to snap my rifle to, lift it, and fire, almost at haphazard, +at the head of the nearest, the unwounded bull. + +"Now, as you know, in the case of the African elephant, whose skull is +convex, and not concave like that of the Indian, this is always a most +risky and very frequently a perfectly useless shot. The bullet loses +itself in the masses of bone, that is all. But there is one little vital +place, and should the bullet happen to strike there, it will follow +the channel of the nostrils--at least I suppose it is that of the +nostrils--and reach the brain. And this was what happened in the present +case--the ball struck the fatal spot in the region of the eye and +travelled to the brain. Down came the great bull all of a heap, and +rolled on to his side as dead as a stone. I swung round at that instant +to face the third, the monster bull with one tusk that I had wounded +two days before. He was already almost over me, and in the dim moonlight +seemed to tower above me like a house. I lifted the rifle and pulled +at his neck. It would not go off! Then, in a flash, as it were, I +remembered that it was on the half-cock. The lock of this barrel was a +little weak, and a few days before, in firing at a cow eland, the +left barrel had jarred off at the shock of the discharge of the right, +knocking me backwards with the recoil; so after that I had kept it on +the half-cock till I actually wanted to fire it. + +"I gave one desperate bound to the right, and, my lame leg +notwithstanding, I believe that few men could have made a better jump. +At any rate, it was none too soon, for as I jumped I felt the wind made +by the tremendous downward stroke of the monster's trunk. Then I ran for +it. + +"I ran like a buck, still keeping hold of my gun, however. My idea, +so far as I could be said to have any fixed idea, was to bolt down the +pathway up which I had come, like a rabbit down a burrow, trusting that +he would lose sight of me in the uncertain light. I sped across the +glade. Fortunately the bull, being wounded, could not go full speed; +but wounded or no, he could go quite as fast as I could. I was unable to +gain an inch, and away we went, with just about three feet between our +separate extremities. We were at the other side now, and a glance served +to show me that I had miscalculated and overshot the opening. To reach +it now was hopeless; I should have blundered straight into the elephant. +So I did the only thing I could do: I swerved like a course hare, and +started off round the edge of the glade, seeking for some opening into +which I could plunge. This gave me a moment's start, for the bull +could not turn as quickly as I could, and I made the most of it. But no +opening could I see; the bush was like a wall. We were speeding round +the edge of the glade, and the elephant was coming up again. Now he was +within about six feet, and now, as he trumpeted or rather screamed, +I could feel the fierce hot blast of his breath strike upon my head. +Heavens! how it frightened me! + +"We were three parts round the glade now, and about fifty yards ahead +was the single large dead thorn-tree against which the bull had been +leaning. I spurted for it; it was my last chance of safety. But spurt as +I would, it seemed hours before I got there. Putting out my right hand, +I swung round the tree, thus bringing myself face to face with the +elephant. I had not time to lift the rifle to fire, I had barely time to +cock it, and run sideways and backward, when he was on to me. Crash! he +came, striking the tree full with his forehead. It snapped like a carrot +about forty inches from the ground. Fortunately I was clear of the +trunk, but one of the dead branches struck me on the chest as it went +down and swept me to the ground. I fell upon my back, and the elephant +blundered past me as I lay. More by instinct than anything else I lifted +the rifle with one hand and pulled the trigger. It exploded, and, as I +discovered afterwards, the bullet struck him in the ribs. But the recoil +of the heavy rifle held thus was very severe; it bent my arm up, and +sent the butt with a thud against the top of my shoulder and the side of +my neck, for the moment quite paralyzing me, and causing the weapon to +jump from my grasp. Meanwhile the bull was rushing on. He travelled for +some twenty paces, and then suddenly he stopped. Faintly I reflected +that he was coming back to finish me, but even the prospect of imminent +and dreadful death could not rouse me into action. I was utterly spent; +I could not move. + +"Idly, almost indifferently, I watched his movements. For a moment +he stood still, next he trumpeted till the welkin rang, and then very +slowly, and with great dignity, he knelt down. At this point I swooned +away. + +"When I came to myself again I saw from the moon that I must have been +insensible for quite two hours. I was drenched with dew, and shivering +all over. At first I could not think where I was, when, on lifting +my head, I saw the outline of the one-tusked bull still kneeling some +five-and-twenty paces from me. Then I remembered. Slowly I raised +myself, and was instantly taken with a violent sickness, the result +of over-exertion, after which I very nearly fainted a second time. +Presently I grew better, and considered the position. Two of the +elephants were, as I knew, dead; but how about No. 3? There he knelt in +majesty in the lonely moonlight. The question was, was he resting, or +dead? I rose on my hands and knees, loaded my rifle, and painfully crept +a few paces nearer. I could see his eye now, for the moonlight fell full +upon it--it was open, and rather prominent. I crouched and watched; the +eyelid did not move, nor did the great brown body, or the trunk, or the +ear, or the tail--nothing moved. Then I knew that he must be dead. + +"I crept up to him, still keeping the rifle well forward, and gave him a +thump, reflecting as I did so how very near I had been to being thumped +instead of thumping. He never stirred; certainly he was dead, though to +this day I do not know if it was my random shot that killed him, or +if he died from concussion of the brain consequent upon the tremendous +shock of his contact with the tree. Anyhow, there he was. Cold and +beautiful he lay, or rather knelt, as the poet nearly puts it. Indeed, I +do not think that I have ever seen a sight more imposing in its way than +that of the mighty beast crouched in majestic death, and shone upon by +the lonely moon. + +"While I stood admiring the scene, and heartily congratulating myself +upon my escape, once more I began to feel sick. Accordingly, without +waiting to examine the other two bulls, I staggered back to the camp, +which in due course I reached in safety. Everybody in it was asleep. I +did not wake them, but having swallowed a mouthful of brandy I threw +off my coat and shoes, rolled myself up in a blanket, and was soon fast +asleep. + +"When I woke it was already light, and at first I thought that, like +Joseph, I had dreamed a dream. At that moment, however, I turned my +head, and quickly knew that it was no dream, for my neck and face were +so stiff from the blow of the butt-end of the rifle that it was agony +to move them. I collapsed for a minute or two. Gobo and another man, +wrapped up like a couple of monks in their blankets, thinking that I was +still asleep, were crouched over a little fire they had made, for the +morning was damp and chilly, and holding sweet converse. + +"Gobo said that he was getting tired of running after elephants which +they never caught. Macumazahn (that is, myself) was without doubt a man +of parts, and of some skill in shooting, but also he was a fool. None +but a fool would run so fast and far after elephants which it was +impossible to catch, when they kept cutting the spoor of fresh ones. +He certainly was a fool, but he must not be allowed to continue in +his folly; and he, Gobo, had determined to put a stop to it. He should +refuse to accompany him any further on so mad a hunt. + +"'Yes,' the other answered, 'the poor man certainly was sick in his +head, and it was quite time that they checked his folly while they still +had a patch of skin left upon their feet. Moreover, he for his part +certainly did not like this country of Wambe's, which really was full of +ghosts. Only the last night he had heard the spooks at work--they were +out shooting, at least it sounded as though they were. It was very +queer, but perhaps their lunatic of a master----' + +"'Gobo, you scoundrel!' I shouted out at this juncture, sitting bolt +upright on the blankets, 'stop idling there and make me some coffee.' + +"Up sprang Gobo and his friend, and in half a moment were respectfully +skipping about in a manner that contrasted well with the lordly contempt +of their previous conversation. But all the time they were in earnest in +what they said about hunting the elephants any further, for before I had +finished my coffee they came to me in a body, and said that if I wanted +to follow those elephants I must follow them myself, for they would not +go. + +"I argued with them, and affected to be much put out. The elephants were +close at hand, I said; I was sure of it; I had heard them trumpet in the +night. + +"'Yes,' answered the men mysteriously, 'they too had heard things in the +night, things not nice to hear; they had heard the spooks out shooting, +and no longer would they remain in a country so vilely haunted.' + +"'It was nonsense,' I replied. 'If ghosts went out shooting, surely +they would use air-guns and not black powder, and one would not hear +an air-gun. Well, if they were cowards, and would not come, of course +I could not force them to, but I would make a bargain with them. They +should follow those elephants for one half-hour more, then if we failed +to come upon them I would abandon the pursuit, and we would go straight +to Wambe, chief of the Matuku, and give him hongo.' + +"To this compromise the men agreed readily. Accordingly about +half-an-hour later we struck our camp and started, and notwithstanding +my aches and bruises, I do not think that I ever felt in better spirits +in my life. It is something to wake up in the morning and remember that +in the dead of the night, single-handed, one has given battle to and +overthrown three of the largest elephants in Africa, slaying them with +three bullets. Such a feat to my knowledge had never been done before, +and on that particular morning I felt a very 'tall man of my hands' +indeed. The only thing I feared was, that should I ever come to tell +the story nobody would believe it, for when a strange tale is told by +a hunter, people are apt to think it is necessarily a lie, instead of +being only probably so.[*] + + [*] For the satisfaction of any who may be so disbelieving + as to take this view of Mr. Quatermain's story, the Editor + may state that a gentleman with whom he is acquainted, and + whose veracity he believes to be beyond doubt, not long ago + described to him how he chanced to kill _four_ African + elephants with four consecutive bullets. Two of these + elephants were charging him simultaneously, and out of the + four three were killed with the head shot, a very uncommon + thing in the case of the African elephant.--Editor. + +"Well, we passed on till, having crossed the first glade where I had +seen the lions, we reached the neck of bush that separated it from the +second glade, where the dead elephants were. And here I began to take +elaborate precautions, amongst others ordering Gobo to keep some yards +ahead and look out sharp, as I thought that the elephants might be +about. He obeyed my instructions with a superior smile, and pushed +ahead. Presently I saw him pull up as though he had been shot, and begin +to snap his fingers faintly. + +"'What is it?' I whispered. + +"'The elephant, the great elephant with one tusk kneeling down.' + +"I crept up beside him. There knelt the bull as I had left him last +night, and there too lay the other bulls. + +"'Do these elephants sleep?' I whispered to the astonished Gobo. + +"'Yes, Macumazahn, they sleep.' + +"'Nay, Gobo, they are dead.' + +"'Dead? How can they be dead? Who killed them?' + +"'What do people call me, Gobo?' + +"'They call you Macumazahn.' + +"'And what does Macumazahn mean?' + +"'It means the man who keeps his eyes open, the man who gets up in the +night.' + +"'Yes, Gobo, and I am that man. Look, you idle, lazy cowards; while you +slept last night I rose, and alone I hunted those great elephants, and +slew them by the moonlight. To each of them I gave one bullet and only +one, and it fell dead. Look,' and I advanced into the glade, 'here is +my spoor, and here is the spoor of the great bull charging after me, and +there is the tree that I took refuge behind; see, the elephant shattered +it in his charge. Oh, you cowards, you who would give up the chase +while the blood spoor steamed beneath your nostrils, see what I did +single-handed while you slept, and be ashamed.' + +"'_Ou!_' said the men, '_ou!_ Koos! Koos y umcool!' (Chief, great +Chief!) And then they held their tongues, and going up to the three dead +beasts, gazed upon them in silence. + +"But after that those men looked upon me with awe as being almost +more than mortal. No mere man, they said, could have slain those three +elephants alone in the night-time. I never had any further trouble with +them. I believe that if I had told them to jump over a precipice and +that they would take no harm, they would have believed me. + +"Well, I went up and examined the bulls. Such tusks as they had I never +saw and never shall see again. It took us all day to cut them out; and +when they reached Delagoa Bay, as they did ultimately, though not in my +keeping, the single tusk of the big bull scaled one hundred and sixty +pounds, and the four other tusks averaged ninety-nine and a half +pounds--a most wonderful, indeed an almost unprecedented, lot of +ivory.[*] Unfortunately I was forced to saw the big tusk in two, +otherwise we could not have carried it." + + [*] The largest elephant tusk of which the Editor has any + certain knowledge scaled one hundred and fifty pounds. + +"Oh, Quatermain, you barbarian!" I broke in here, "the idea of spoiling +such a tusk! Why, I would have kept it whole if I had been obliged to +drag it myself." + +"Oh yes, young man," he answered, "it is all very well for you to talk +like that, but if you had found yourself in the position which it was +my privilege to occupy a few hours afterwards, it is my belief that you +would have thrown the tusks away altogether and taken to your heels." + +"Oh," said Good, "so that isn't the end of the yarn? A very good yarn, +Quatermain, by the way--I couldn't have made up a better one myself." + +The old gentleman looked at Good severely, for it irritated him to be +chaffed about his stories. + +"I don't know what you mean, Good. I don't see that there is any +comparison between a true story of adventure and the preposterous tales +which you invent about ibex hanging by their horns. No, it is not the +end of the story; the most exciting part is to come. But I have talked +enough for to-night; and if you go on in that way, Good, it will be some +time before I begin again." + +"Sorry I spoke, I'm sure," said Good, humbly. "Let's have a split to +show that there is no ill-feeling." And they did. + + + + +V--THE MESSAGE OF MAIWA + +On the following evening we once more dined together, and Quatermain, +after some pressure, was persuaded to continue his story--for Good's +remark still rankled in his breast. + +"At last," he went on, "a few minutes before sunset, the task was +finished. We had laboured at it all day, stopping only once for dinner, +for it is no easy matter to hew out five such tusks as those which +now lay before me in a white and gleaming line. It was a dinner worth +eating, too, I can tell you, for we dined off the heart of the great +one-tusked bull, which was so big that the man whom I sent inside the +elephant to look for his heart was forced to remove it in two pieces. +We cut it into slices and fried it with fat, and I never tasted heart +to equal it, for the meat seemed to melt in one's mouth. By the way, I +examined the jaw of the elephant; it never grew but one tusk; the other +had not been broken off, nor was it present in a rudimentary form. + +"Well, there lay the five beauties, or rather four of them, for Gobo and +another man were engaged in sawing the grand one in two. At last +with many sighs I ordered them to do this, but not until by practical +experiment I had proved that it was impossible to carry it in any other +way. One hundred and sixty pounds of solid ivory, or rather more in its +green state, is too great a weight for two men to bear for long across +a broken country. I sat watching the job and smoking the pipe of +contentment, when suddenly the bush opened, and a very handsome and +dignified native girl, apparently about twenty years of age, stood +before me, carrying a basket of green mealies upon her head. + +"Although I was rather surprised to see a native girl in such a wild +spot, and, so far as I knew, a long way from any kraal, the matter did +not attract my particular notice; I merely called to one of the men, and +told him to bargain with the woman for the mealies, and ask her if there +were any more to be bought in the neighbourhood. Then I turned my head +and continued to superintend the cutting of the tusk. Presently a shadow +fell upon me. I looked up, and saw that the girl was standing before me, +the basket of mealies still on her head. + +"'Mareme, Mareme,' she said, gently clapping her hands together. The +word Mareme among these Matuku (though she was no Matuku) answers to +the Zulu 'Koos,' and the clapping of hands is a form of salutation very +common among the tribes of the Basutu race. + +"'What is it, girl?' I asked her in Sisutu. 'Are those mealies for +sale?' + +"'No, great white hunter,' she answered in Zulu, 'I bring them as a +gift.' + +"'Good,' I replied; 'set them down.' + +"'A gift for a gift, white man.' + +"'Ah,' I grumbled, 'the old story--nothing for nothing in this wicked +world. What do you want--beads?' + +"She nodded, and I was about to tell one of the men to go and fetch some +from one of the packs, when she checked me. + +"'A gift from the giver's own hand is twice a gift,' she said, and I +thought that she spoke meaningly. + +"'You mean that you want me to give them to you myself?' + +"'Surely.' + +"I rose to go with her. 'How is it that, being of the Matuku, you speak +in the Zulu tongue?' I asked suspiciously. + +"'I am not of the Matuku,' she answered as soon as we were out of +hearing of the men. 'I am of the people of Nala, whose tribe is the +Butiana tribe, and who lives there,' and she pointed over the mountain. +'Also I am one of the wives of Wambe,' and her eyes flashed as she said +the name. + +"'And how did you come here?' + +"'On my feet,' she answered laconically. + +"We reached the packs, and undoing one of them, I extracted a handful of +beads. 'Now,' I said, 'a gift for a gift. Hand over the mealies.' + +"She took the beads without even looking at them, which struck me as +curious, and setting the basket of mealies on the ground, emptied it. + +"At the bottom of the basket were some curiously-shaped green leaves, +rather like the leaves of the gutta-percha tree in shape, only somewhat +thicker and of a more fleshy substance. As though by hazard, the girl +picked one of these leaves out of the basket and smelt it. Then she +handed it to me. I took the leaf, and supposing that she wished me to +smell it also, was about to oblige her by doing so, when my eye fell +upon some curious red scratches on the green surface of the leaf. + +"'Ah,' said the girl (whose name, by the way, was Maiwa), speaking +beneath her breath, 'read the signs, white man.' + +"Without answering her I continued to stare at the leaf. It had been +scratched or rather written upon with a sharp tool, such as a nail, and +wherever this instrument had touched it, the acid juice oozing through +the outer skin had turned a rusty blood colour. Presently I found the +beginning of the scrawl, and read this in English, and covering the +surface of the leaf and of two others that were in the basket. + +"'I hear that a white man is hunting in the Matuku country. This is +to warn him to fly over the mountain to Nala. Wambe sends an impi at +daybreak to eat him up, because he has hunted before bringing hongo. For +God's sake, whoever you are, try to help me. I have been the slave of +this devil Wambe for nearly seven years, and am beaten and tortured +continually. He murdered all the rest of us, but kept me because I could +work iron. Maiwa, his wife, takes this; she is flying to Nala her father +because Wambe killed her child. Try to get Nala to attack Wambe; Maiwa +can guide them over the mountain. You won't come for nothing, for the +stockade of Wambe's private kraal is made of elephants' tusks. For +God's sake, don't desert me, or I shall kill myself. I can bear this no +longer. + +"'John Every.' + +"'Great heavens!' I gasped. 'Every!--why, it must be my old friend.' The +girl, or rather the woman Maiwa, pointed to the other side of the leaf, +where there was more writing. It ran thus--'I have just heard that the +white man is called Macumazahn. If so, it must be my friend Quatermain. +Pray Heaven it is, for I know he won't desert an old chum in such a fix +as I am. It isn't that I'm afraid of dying, I don't care if I die, but I +want to get a chance at Wambe first.' + +"'No, old boy,' thought I to myself, 'it isn't likely that I am going +to leave you there while there is a chance of getting you out. I have +played fox before now--there's still a double or two left in me. I must +make a plan, that's all. And then there's that stockade of tusks. I am +not going to leave that either.' Then I spoke to the woman. + +"'You are called Maiwa?' + +"'It is so.' + +"'You are the daughter of Nala and the wife of Wambe?' + +"'It is so.' + +"'You fly from Wambe to Nala?' + +"'I do.' + +"'Why do you fly? Stay, I would give an order,'--and calling to Gobo, I +ordered him to get the men ready for instant departure. The woman, who, +as I have said, was quite young and very handsome, put her hand into +a little pouch made of antelope hide which she wore fastened round the +waist, and to my horror drew from it the withered hand of a child, which +evidently had been carefully dried in the smoke. + +"'I fly for this cause,' she answered, holding the poor little hand +towards me. 'See now, I bore a child. Wambe was its father, and for +eighteen months the child lived and I loved it. But Wambe loves not his +children; he kills them all. He fears lest they should grow up to slay +one so wicked, and he would have killed this child also, but I begged +its life. One day, some soldiers passing the hut saw the child and +saluted him, calling him the "chief who soon shall be." Wambe heard, +and was mad. He smote the babe, and it wept. Then he said that it should +weep for good cause. Among the things that he had stolen from the white +men whom he slew is a trap that will hold lions. So strong is the trap +that four men must stand on it, two on either side, before it can be +opened.'" + + +Here old Quatermain broke off suddenly. + +"Look here, you fellows," he said, "I can't bear to go on with this part +of the story, because I never could stand either seeing or talking of +the sufferings of children. You can guess what that devil did, and what +the poor mother was forced to witness. Would you believe it, she told +me the tale without a tremor, in the most matter-of-fact way. Only I +noticed that her eyelid quivered all the time. + +"'Well,' I said, as unconcernedly as though I had been talking of the +death of a lamb, though inwardly I was sick with horror and boiling +with rage, 'and what do you mean to do about the matter, Maiwa, wife of +Wambe?' + +"'I mean to do this, white man,' she answered, drawing herself up to her +full height, and speaking in tones as hard as steel and cold as ice--'I +mean to work, and work, and work, to bring this to pass, and to bring +that to pass, until at length it comes to pass that with these living +eyes I behold Wambe dying the death that he gave to his child and my +child.' + +"'Well said,' I answered. + +"'Ay, well said, Macumazahn, well said, and not easily forgotten. Who +could forget, oh, who could forget? See where this dead hand rests +against my side; so once it rested when alive. And now, though it is +dead, now every night it creeps from its nest and strokes my hair and +clasps my fingers in its tiny palm. Every night it does this, fearing +lest I should forget. Oh, my child! my child! ten days ago I held thee +to my breast, and now this alone remains of thee,' and she kissed the +dead hand and shivered, but never a tear did she weep. + +"'See now,' she went on, 'the white man, the prisoner at Wambe's kraal, +he was kind to me. He loved the child that is dead, yes, he wept +when its father slew it, and at the risk of his life told Wambe, my +husband--ah, yes, my husband!--that which he is! He too it was who made +a plan. He said to me, "Go, Maiwa, after the custom of thy people, go +purify thyself in the bush alone, having touched a dead one. Say to +Wambe thou goest to purify thyself alone for fifteen days, according to +the custom of thy people. Then fly to thy father, Nala, and stir him up +to war against Wambe for the sake of the child that is dead." This then +he said, and his words seemed good to me, and that same night ere I left +to purify myself came news that a white man hunted in the country, and +Wambe, being mad with drink, grew very wrath, and gave orders that an +impi should be gathered to slay the white man and his people and seize +his goods. Then did the "Smiter of Iron" (Every) write the message on +the green leaves, and bid me seek thee out, and show forth the matter, +that thou mightest save thyself by flight; and behold, this thing have I +done, Macumazahn, the hunter, the Slayer of Elephants.' + +"'Ah,' I said, 'I thank you. And how many men be there in the impi of +Wambe?' + +"'A hundred of men and half a hundred.' + +"'And where is the impi?' + +"'There to the north. It follows on thy spoor. I saw it pass yesterday, +but myself I guessed that thou wouldst be nigher to the mountain, and +came this way, and found thee. To-morrow at the daybreak the slayers +will be here.' + +"'Very possibly,' I thought to myself; 'but they won't find Macumazahn. +I have half a mind to put some strychnine into the carcases of those +elephants for their especial benefit though.' I knew that they would +stop to eat the elephants, as indeed they did, to our great gain, but +I abandoned the idea of poisoning them, because I was rather short of +strychnine." + +"Or because you did not like to play the trick, Quatermain?" I suggested +with a laugh. + +"I said because I had not enough strychnine. It would take a great deal +of strychnine to poison three elephants effectually," answered the old +gentleman testily. + +I said nothing further, but I smiled, knowing that old Allan could never +have resorted to such an artifice, however severe his strait. But that +was his way; he always made himself out to be a most unmerciful person. + + +"Well," he went on, "at that moment Gobo came up and announced that we +were ready to march. 'I am glad that you are ready,' I said, 'because +if you don't march, and march quick, you will never march again, that is +all. Wambe has an impi out to kill us, and it will be here presently.' + +"Gobo turned positively green, and his knees knocked together. 'Ah, what +did I say?' he exclaimed. 'Fate walks about loose in Wambe's country.' + +"'Very good; now all you have to do is to walk a little quicker than +he does. No, no, you don't leave those elephant tusks behind--I am not +going to part with them I can tell you.' + +"Gobo said no more, but hastily directed the men to take up their loads, +and then asked which way we were to run. + +"'Ah,' I said to Maiwa, 'which way?' + +"'There,' she answered, pointing towards the great mountain spur +which towered up into the sky some forty miles away, separating the +territories of Nala and Wambe--'there, below that small peak, is one +place where men may pass, and one only. Also it can easily be blocked +from above. If men pass not there, then they must go round the great +peak of the mountain, two days' journey and half a day.' + +"'And how far is the peak from us?' + +"'All to-night shall you walk and all to-morrow, and if you walk fast, +at sunset you shall stand on the peak.' + +"I whistled, for that meant a five-and-forty miles trudge without sleep. +Then I called to the men to take each of them as much cooked elephant's +meat as he could carry conveniently. I did the same myself, and forced +the woman Maiwa to eat some as we went. This I did with difficulty, for +at that time she seemed neither to sleep nor eat nor rest, so fiercely +was she set on vengeance. + +"Then we started, Maiwa guiding us. After going for a half-hour over +gradually rising ground, we found ourselves on the further edge of a +great bush-clad depression something like the bottom of a lake. This +depression, through which we had been travelling, was covered with bush +to a very great extent, indeed almost altogether so, except where it was +pitted with glades such as that wherein I had shot the elephants. + +"At the top of this slope Maiwa halted, and putting her hand over her +eyes looked back. Presently she touched me on the arm and pointed across +the sea of forest towards a comparatively vacant space of country some +six or seven miles away. I looked, and suddenly I saw something flash in +the red rays of the setting sun. A pause, and then another quick flash. + +"'What is it?' I asked. + +"'It is the spears of Wambe's impi, and they travel fast,' she answered +coolly. + +"I suppose that my face showed how little I liked the news, for she went +on-- + +"'Fear not; they will stay to feast upon the elephants, and while they +feast we shall journey. We may yet escape.' + +"After that we turned and pushed on again, till at length it grew so +dark that we had to wait for the rising of the moon, which lost us +time, though it gave us rest. Fortunately none of the men had seen that +ominous flashing of the spears; if they had, I doubt if even I could +have kept control of them. As it was, they travelled faster than I had +ever known loaded natives to go before, so thorough-paced was their +desire to see the last of Wambe's country. I, however, took the +precaution to march last of all, fearing lest they should throw away +their loads to lighten themselves, or, worse still, the tusks; for these +kind of fellows would be capable of throwing anything away if their own +skins were at stake. If the pious AEneas, whose story you were reading +to me the other night, had been a mongrel Delagoa Bay native, Anchises +would have had a poor chance of getting out of Troy, that is, if he was +known to have made a satisfactory will. + +"At moonrise we set out again, and with short occasional halts travelled +till dawn, when we were forced to rest and eat. Starting once more, +about half-past five, we crossed the river at noon. Then began the long +toilsome ascent through thick bush, the same in which I shot the bull +buffalo, only some twenty miles to the west of that spot, and not more +than twenty-five miles on the hither side of Wambe's kraal. There were +six or seven miles of this dense bush, and hard work it was to get +through it. Next came a belt of scattered forest which was easier to +pass, though, in revenge, the ground was steeper. This was about two +miles wide, and we passed it by about four in the afternoon. Above this +scattered bush lay a long steep slope of boulder-strewn ground, which +ran up to the foot of the little peak some three miles away. As we +emerged, footsore and weary, on to this inhospitable plain, some of the +men looking round caught sight of the spears of Wambe's impi advancing +rapidly not more than a mile behind us. + +"At first there was a panic, and the bearers tried to throw off their +loads and run, but I harangued them, calling out to them that certainly +I would shoot the first man who did so and that if they would but trust +in me I would bring them through the mess. Now, ever since I had killed +those three elephants single-handed, I had gained great influence over +these men, and they listened to me. So off we went as hard as ever we +could go--the members of the Alpine Club would not have been in it with +us. We made the boulders burn, as a Frenchman would say. + +"When we had done about a mile the spears began to emerge from the belt +of scattered bush, and the whoop of their bearers as they viewed us +broke upon our ears. Quick as our pace had been before, it grew much +quicker now, for terror lent wings to my gallant crew. But they were +sorely tired, and the loads were heavy, so that run, or rather climb, as +we would, Wambe's soldiers, a scrubby-looking lot of men armed with +big spears and small shields, but without plumes, climbed considerably +faster. The last mile of that pleasing chase was like a fox hunt, +we being the fox, and always in view. What astonished me was the +extraordinary endurance and activity shown by Maiwa. She never even +flagged. I think that girl's muscles must have been made of iron, or +perhaps it was the strength of her will that supported her. At any rate +she reached the foot of the peak second, poor Gobo, who was an excellent +hand at running away, being first. + +"Presently I came up panting, and glanced at the ascent. Before us was a +wall of rock about one hundred and fifty feet in height, upon which +the strata were laid so as to form a series of projections sufficiently +resembling steps to make the ascent easy, comparatively speaking, except +at one spot, where it was necessary to climb over a projecting angle +of cliff and bear a little to the left. It was not a really difficult +place, but what made it awkward was, that immediately beneath this +projection gaped a deep fissure or donga, on the brink of which we now +stood, originally dug out, no doubt, by the rush of water from the +peak and cliff. This gulf beneath would be trying to the nerves of +a weak-headed climber at the critical point, and so it proved in the +result. The projecting angle once passed, the remainder of the ascent +was very simple. At the summit, however, the brow of the cliff hung over +and was pierced by a single narrow path cut through it by water, in such +fashion that a single boulder rolled into it at the top would make the +cliff quite impassable to men without ropes. + +"At this moment Wambe's soldiers were about a thousand yards from us, so +it was evident that we had no time to lose. I at once ordered the men +to commence the ascent, the girl Maiwa, who was familiar with the pass, +going first to show them the way. Accordingly they began to mount with +alacrity, pushing and lifting their loads in front of them. When the +first of them, led by Maiwa, reached the projecting angle, they put +down their loads upon a ledge of rock and clambered over. Once there, by +lying on their stomachs upon a boulder, they could reach the loads which +were held to them by the men beneath, and in this way drag them over the +awkward place, whence they were carried easily to the top. + +"But all of this took time, and meanwhile the soldiers were coming up +fast, screaming and brandishing their big spears. They were now within +about four hundred yards, and several loads, together with all the +tusks, had yet to be got over the rock. I was still standing at the +bottom of the cliff, shouting directions to the men above, but it +occurred to me that it would soon be time to move. Before doing so, +however, I thought that it might be well to try and produce a moral +effect upon the advancing enemy. In my hand I held a Winchester +repeating carbine, but the distance was too great for me to use it with +effect, so I turned to Gobo, who was shivering with terror at my side, +and handing him the carbine, took my express from him. + +"The enemy was now about three hundred and fifty yards away, and the +express was only sighted to three hundred. Still I knew that it could be +trusted for the extra fifty yards. Running in front of Wambe's soldiers +were two men--captains, I suppose--one of them very tall. I put up the +three hundred yard flap, and sitting down with my back against the rock, +I drew a long breath to steady myself, and covered the tall man, giving +him a full sight. Feeling that I was on him, I pulled, and before the +sound of the striking bullet could reach my ears, I saw the man throw up +his arms and pitch forward on to his head. His companion stopped dead, +giving me a fair chance. I rapidly covered him, and fired the left +barrel. He turned round once, and then sank down in a heap. This caused +the enemy to hesitate--they had never seen men killed at such a +distance before, and thought that there was something uncanny about the +performance. Taking advantage of the lull, I gave the express back to +Gobo, and slinging the Winchester repeater over my back I began to climb +the cliff. + +"When we reached the projecting angle all the loads were over, but +the tusks still had to be passed up, and owing to their weight and the +smoothness of their surface, this was a very difficult task. Of course +I ought to have abandoned the tusks; often and often have I since +reproached myself for not doing so. Indeed, I think that my obstinacy +about them was downright sinful, but I was always obstinate about such +things, and I could not bear the idea of leaving those splendid tusks +which had cost me so much pains and danger to come by. Well, it nearly +cost me my life also, and did cost poor Gobo his, as will be seen +shortly, to say nothing of the loss inflicted by my rifle on the enemy. +When I reached the projection I found that the men, with their usual +stupidity, were trying to hand up the tusks point first. Now the result +of this was that those above had nothing to grip except the round +polished surface of the ivory, and in the position in which they were, +this did not give them sufficient hold to enable them to lift the +weight. I told them to reverse the tusks and push them up, so that the +rough and hollow ends came to the hands of the men above. This they did, +and the first two were dragged up in safety. + +"At this point, looking behind me, I saw the Matukus streaming up the +slope in a rough extended order, and not more than a hundred yards away. +Cocking the Winchester I turned and opened fire on them. I don't quite +know how many I missed, but I do know that I never shot better in my +life. I had to keep shifting myself from one enemy to the other, firing +almost without getting a sight, that is, by the eye alone, after the +fashion of the experts who break glass balls. But quick as the work was, +men fell thick, and by the time that I had emptied the carbine of its +twelve cartridges, for the moment the advance was checked. I rapidly +pushed in some more cartridges, and hardly had I done so when the enemy, +seeing that we were about to escape them altogether, came on once more +with a tremendous yell. By this time the two halves of the single tusk +of the great bull alone remained to be passed up. I fired and fired as +effectively as before, but notwithstanding all that I could do, some men +escaped my hail of bullets and began to ascend the cliff. Presently +my rifle was again empty. I slung it over my back, and, drawing my +revolver, turned to run for it, the attackers being now quite close. As +I did so, a spear struck the cliff close to my head. + +"The last half of the tusk was now vanishing over the rock, and I sung +out to Gobo and the other man who had been pushing it up to vanish after +it. Gobo, poor fellow, required no second invitation; indeed, his haste +was his undoing. He went at the projecting rock with a bound. The end +of the tusk was still hanging over, and instead of grasping the rock he +caught at it. It twisted in his hand--he slipped--he fell; with one wild +shriek he vanished into the abyss beneath, his falling body brushing me +as it passed. For a moment we stood aghast, and presently the dull thud +of his fall smote heavily upon our ears. Poor fellow, he had met the +Fate which, as he declared, walked about loose in Wambe's country. Then +with an oath the remaining man sprung at the rock and clambered over it +in safety. Aghast at the awfulness of what had happened, I stood still, +till I saw the great blade of a Matuku spear pass up between my feet. +That brought me to my senses, and I began to clamber up the rock like +a cat. I was half way round it. Already I had clasped the hand of that +brave girl Maiwa, who came down to help me, the men having scrambled +forward with the ivory, when I felt some one seize my ankle. + +"'Pull, Maiwa, pull,' I gasped, and she certainly did pull. Maiwa was a +very muscular woman, and never before did I appreciate the advantages +of the physical development of females so keenly. She tugged at my left +arm, the savage below tugged at my right leg, till I began to realize +that something must give way ere long. Luckily I retained my presence +of mind, like the man who threw his mother-in-law out of the window, and +carried the mattress down-stairs, when a fire broke out in his house. +My right hand was still free, and in it I held my revolver, which was +secured to my wrist by a leather thong. The pistol was cocked, and I +simply pointed it downwards and fired. The result was instantaneous--and +so far as I am concerned, most satisfactory. The bullet hit the man +beneath me somewhere, I am sure I don't know where; at any rate, he let +go of my leg and plunged headlong into the gulf beneath to join Gobo. In +another moment I was on the top of the rock, and going up the remaining +steps like a lamplighter. A single other soldier appeared in pursuit, +but one of my boys at the top fired my elephant gun at him. I don't know +if he hit him or only frightened him; at any rate, he vanished whence he +came. I do know, however, that he very nearly hit _me_, for I felt the +wind of the bullet. + +"Another thirty seconds, and I and the woman Maiwa were at the top of +the cliff panting, but safe. + +"My men, being directed thereto by Maiwa, had most fortunately rolled +up some big boulders which lay about, and with these we soon managed to +block the passage through the overhanging ridge of rock in such fashion +that the soldiers below could not possibly climb over it. Indeed, so far +as I could see, they did not even try to do so--their heart was turned +to fat, as the Zulus say. + +"Then having rested a few moments we took up the loads, including the +tusks of ivory that had cost us so dear, and in silence marched on for +a couple of miles or more, till we reached a patch of dense bush. And +here, being utterly exhausted, we camped for the night, taking the +precaution, however, of setting a guard to watch against any attempt at +surprise." + + + + +VI--THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN + +"Notwithstanding all that we had gone through, perhaps indeed on account +of it, for I was thoroughly worn out, I slept that night as soundly as +poor Gobo, round whose crushed body the hyaenas would now be prowling. +Rising refreshed at dawn we went on our way towards Nala's kraal, which +we reached at nightfall. It is built on open ground after the Zulu +fashion, in a ring fence and with beehive huts. The cattle kraal is +behind and a little to the left. Indeed, both from their habits and +their talk it was easy to see that these Butiana belong to that section +of the Bantu people which, since T'Chaka's time, has been known as the +Zulu race. We did not see the chief Nala that night. His daughter Maiwa +went on to his private huts as soon as we arrived, and very shortly +afterwards one of his head men came to us bringing a sheep and some +mealies and milk with him. 'The chief sent us greeting,' he said, 'and +would see us on the morrow.' Meanwhile he was ordered to bring us to a +place of resting, where we and our goods should be safe and undisturbed. +Accordingly he led the way to some very good huts just outside Nala's +private enclosure, and here we slept comfortably. + +"On the morrow about eight o'clock the head man came again, and said +that Nala requested that I would visit him. I followed him into the +private enclosure and was introduced to the chief, a fine-looking man +of about fifty, with very delicately-shaped hands and feet, and a rather +nervous mouth. The chief was seated on a tanned ox-hide outside his hut. +By his side stood his daughter Maiwa, and squatted on their haunches +round him were some twenty head men or Indunas, whose number was +continually added to by fresh arrivals. These men saluted me as I +entered, and the chief rose and took my hand, ordering a stool to be +brought for me to sit on. When this was done, with much eloquence and +native courtesy he thanked me for protecting his daughter in the painful +and dangerous circumstances in which she found herself placed, and also +complimented me very highly upon what he was pleased to call the +bravery with which I had defended the pass in the rocks. I answered in +appropriate terms, saying that it was to Maiwa herself that thanks were +due, for had it not been for her warning and knowledge of the country we +should not have been here to-day; while as to the defence of the pass, I +was fighting for my life, and that put heart into me. + +"These courtesies concluded, Nala called upon his daughter Maiwa to tell +her tale to the head men, and this she did most simply and effectively. +She reminded them that she had gone as an unwilling bride to Wambe--that +no cattle had been paid for her, because Wambe had threatened war if she +was not sent as a free gift. Since she had entered the kraal of Wambe +her days had been days of heaviness and her nights nights of weeping. +She had been beaten, she had been neglected and made to do the work of a +low-born wife--she, a chief's daughter. She had borne a child, and this +was the story of the child. Then amidst a dead silence she told them the +awful tale which she had already narrated to me. When she had finished, +her hearers gave a loud ejaculation. '_Ou!_' they said, '_ou!_ Maiwa, +daughter of Nala!' + +"'Ay,' she went on with flashing eyes, 'ay, it is true; my mouth is as +full of truth as a flower of honey, and for tears my eyes are like the +dew upon the grass at dawn. It is true I saw the child die--here is the +proof of it, councillors,' and she drew forth the little dead hand and +held it before them. + +"'_Ou!_' they said again, '_ou!_ it is the dead hand!' + +"'Yes,' she continued, 'it is the dead hand of my dead child, and I bear +it with me that I may never forget, never for one short hour, that I +live that I may see Wambe die, and be avenged. Will you bear it, my +father, that your daughter and your daughter's child should be so +treated by a Matuku? Will ye bear it, men of my own people?' + +"'No,' said an old Induna, rising, 'it is not to be borne. Enough have +we suffered at the hands of these Matuku dogs and their loud-tongued +chief; let us put it to the issue.' + +"'It is not to be borne indeed,' said Nala; 'but how can we make head +against so great a people?' + +"'Ask of him--ask of Macumazahn, the wise white man,' said Maiwa, +pointing at me. + +"'How can we overcome Wambe, Macumazahn the hunter?' + +"'How does the jackal overreach the lion, Nala?' + +"'By cleverness, Macumazahn.' + +"'So shall you overcome Wambe, Nala.' + +"At this moment an interruption occurred. A man entered and said that +messengers had arrived from Wambe. + +"'What is their message?' asked Nala. + +"'They come to ask that thy daughter Maiwa be sent back, and with her +the white hunter.' + +"'How shall I make answer to this, Macumazahn?' said Nala, when the man +had withdrawn. + +"'Thus shalt thou answer,' I said after reflection; 'say that the woman +shall be sent and I with her, and then bid the messengers be gone. Stay, +I will hide myself here in the hut that the men may not see me,' and I +did. + +"Shortly afterwards, through a crack in the hut, I saw the messengers +arrive, and they were great truculent-looking fellows. There were four +of them, and evidently they had travelled night and day. They entered +with a swagger and squatted down before Nala. + +"'Your business?' said Nala, frowning. + +"'We come from Wambe, bearing the orders of Wambe to Nala his servant,' +answered the spokesman of the party. + +"'Speak,' said Nala, with a curious twitch of his nervous-looking mouth. + +"'These are the words of Wambe: "Send back the woman, my wife, who has +run away from my kraal, and send with her the white man who has dared to +hunt in my country without my leave, and to slay my soldiers." These are +the words of Wambe.' + +"'And if I say I will not send them?' asked Nala. + +"'Then on behalf of Wambe we declare war upon you. Wambe will eat you +up. He will wipe you out; your kraals shall be stamped flat--so,' and +with an expressive gesture he drew his hand across his mouth to show +how complete would be the annihilation of that chief who dared to defy +Wambe. + +"'These are heavy words,' said Nala. 'Let me take counsel before I +answer.' + +"Then followed a little piece of acting that was really very creditable +to the untutored savage mind. The heralds withdrew, but not out of +sight, and Nala went through the show of earnestly consulting his +Indunas. The girl Maiwa too flung herself at his feet, and appeared to +weep and implore his protection, while he wrung his hands as though in +doubt and tribulation of mind. At length he summoned the messengers to +draw near, and addressed them, while Maiwa sobbed very realistically at +his side. + +"'Wambe is a great chief,' said Nala, 'and this woman is his wife, whom +he has a right to claim. She must return to him, but her feet are sore +with walking, she cannot come now. In eight days from this day she shall +be delivered at the kraal of Wambe; I will send her with a party of my +men. As for the white hunter and his men, I have nought to do with them, +and cannot answer for their misdeeds. They have wandered hither unbidden +by me, and I will deliver them back whence they came, that Wambe may +judge them according to his law; they shall be sent with the girl. For +you, go your ways. Food shall be given you without the kraal, and a +present for Wambe in atonement of the ill-doing of my daughter. I have +spoken.' + +"At first the heralds seemed inclined to insist upon Maiwa's +accompanying them then and there, but on being shown the swollen +condition of her feet, ultimately they gave up the point and departed. + +"When they were well out of the way I emerged from the hut, and we went +on to discuss the situation and make our plans. First of all, as I was +careful to explain to Nala, I was not going to give him my experience +and services for nothing. I heard that Wambe had a stockade round +his kraal made of elephant tusks. These tusks, in the event of our +succeeding in the enterprise, I should claim as my perquisite, with the +proviso that Nala should furnish me with men to carry them down to the +coast. + +"To this modest request Nala and the head men gave an unqualified and +hearty assent, the more hearty perhaps because they never expected to +get the ivory. + +"The next thing I stipulated was, that if we conquered, the white man +John Every should be handed over to me, together with any goods which he +might claim. His cruel captivity was, I need hardly say, the only reason +that induced me to join in so hair-brained an expedition, but I was +careful from motives of policy to keep this fact in the background. +Nala accepted this condition. My third stipulation was that no women +or children should be killed. This being also agreed to, we went on to +consider ways and means. Wambe, it appeared, was a very powerful petty +chief, that is, he could put at least six thousand fighting men into the +field, and always had from three to four thousand collected about his +kraal, which was supposed to be impregnable. Nala, on the contrary, at +such short notice could not collect more than from twelve to thirteen +hundred men, though, being of the Zulu stock, they were of much better +stuff for fighting purposes than Wambe's Matukus. + +"These odds, though large, under the circumstances were not +overwhelming. The real obstacle to our chance of success was the +difficulty of delivering a crushing assault against Wambe's strong +place. This was, it appeared, fortified all round with schanses or stone +walls, and contained numerous caves and koppies in the hill-side and at +the foot of the mountain which no force had ever been able to capture. +It is said that in the time of the Zulu monarch Dingaan, a great impi of +that king's having penetrated to this district, had delivered an assault +upon the kraal then owned by a forefather of Wambe's, and been beaten +back with the loss of more than a thousand men. + +"Having thought the question over, I interrogated Maiwa closely as to +the fortifications and the topographical peculiarities of the spot, and +not without results. I discovered that the kraal was indeed impregnable +to a front attack, but that it was very slightly defended to the rear, +which ran up a slope of the mountain, indeed only by two lines of stone +walls. The reason of this was that the mountain is quite impassable +except by one secret path supposed to be known only to the chief and his +councillors, and this being so, it had not been considered necessary to +fortify it. + +"'Well,' I said, when she had done, 'and now as to this secret path of +thine--knowest thou aught of it?' + +"'Ay,' she answered, 'I am no fool, Macumazahn. Knowledge learned is +power earned. I won the secret of that path.' + +"'And canst thou guide an impi thereon so that it shall fall upon the +town from behind?' + +"'Yes, I can do this, if only Wambe's people know not that the impi +comes, for if they know, then they can block the way.' + +"'So then here is my plan. Listen, Nala, and say if it be good, or if +thou hast a better, show it forth. Let messengers go out and summon all +thy impi, that it be gathered here on the third day from now. This being +done, let the impi, led by Maiwa, march on the morrow of the fourth day, +and crossing the mountains let it travel along on the other side of the +mountains till it come to the place on the further side of which is the +kraal of Wambe; that shall be some three days' journey in all.[*] Then +on the night of the third day's journey, let Maiwa lead the impi +in silence up the secret path, so that it comes to the crest of the +mountain that is above the strong place, and here let it hide among the +rocks. + + [*] About one hundred and twenty miles.--Editor. + +"'Meanwhile on the sixth day from now let one of thy Indunas, Nala, +bring with him two hundred men that have guns, and lead me and my men +as prisoners, and take also a girl from among the Butiana people, who +by form and face is like unto Maiwa, and bind her hands, and pass by +the road on which we came and through the cutting in the cliff on to the +kraal of Wambe. But the men shall take no shields or plumes with them, +only their guns and one short spear, and when they meet the people of +Wambe they shall say that they come to give up the woman and the white +man and his party to Wambe, and to make atonement to Wambe. So shall +they pass in peace. And travelling thus, on the evening of the seventh +day we shall come to the gates of the place of Wambe, and nigh the gates +there is, so says Maiwa, a koppie very strong and full of rocks and +caves, but having no soldiers on it except in time of war, or at the +worst but a few such as can easily be overpowered. + +"'This being done, at the dawn of day the impi on the mountain behind +the town must light a fire and put wet grass on it, so that the smoke +goes up. Then at the sight of the smoke we in the koppie will begin to +shoot into the town of Wambe, and all the soldiers will run to kill us. +But we will hold our own, and while we fight the impi shall charge down +the mountain side and climb the schanses, and put those who defend them +to the assegai, and then falling upon the town shall surprise it, and +drive the soldiers of Wambe as a wind blows the dead husks of corn. This +is my plan. I have spoken.' + +"'_Ou!_' said Nala, 'it is good, it is very good. The white man is +cleverer than a jackal. Yes, so shall it be; and may the snake of the +Butiana people stand up upon its tail and prosper the war, for so shall +we be rid of Wambe and the tyrannies of Wambe.' + +"After that the girl Maiwa stood up, and once more producing the +dreadful little dried hand, made her father and several of his head +councillors swear by it and upon it that they would carry out the war of +vengeance to the bitter end. It was a very curious sight to see. And by +the way, the fight that ensued was thereafter known among the tribes of +that district as the War of the Little Hand. + +"The next two days were busy ones for us. Messengers were sent out, +and every available man of the Butiana tribe was ordered up to 'a great +dance.' The country was small, and by the evening of the second day, +some twelve hundred and fifty men were assembled with their assegais and +shields, and a fine hardy troop they were. At dawn of the following day, +the fourth from the departure of the heralds, the main impi, having +been doctored in the usual fashion, started under the command of Nala +himself, who, knowing that his life and chieftainship hung upon the +issue of the struggle, wisely determined to be present to direct it. +With them went Maiwa, who was to guide them up the secret path. Of +course we were obliged to give them two days' start, as they had more +than a hundred miles of rough country to pass, including the crossing of +the great mountain range which ran north and south, for it was necessary +that the impi should make a wide detour in order to escape detection. + +"At length, however, at dawn on the sixth day, I took the road, +accompanied by my most unwilling bearers, who did not at all like the +idea of thus putting their heads into the lion's mouth. Indeed, it was +only the fear of Nala's spears, together with a vague confidence in +myself, that induced them to accept the adventure. With me also were +about two hundred Butianas, all armed with guns of various kinds, for +many of these people had guns, though they were not very proficient in +the use of them. But they carried no shields and wore no head-dress or +armlets; indeed, every warlike appearance was carefully avoided. With +our party went also a sister of Maiwa's, though by a different mother, +who strongly resembled her in face and form, and whose mission it was to +impersonate the runaway wife. + +"That evening we camped upon the top of the cliff up which we had so +barely escaped, and next morning at the first breaking of the light we +rolled away the stones with which we had blocked the passage some days +before, and descended to the hill-side beneath. Here the bodies, or +rather the skeletons of the men who had fallen before my rifle, still +lay about. The Matuku soldiers had left their comrades to be buried by +the vultures. I descended the gully into which poor Gobo had fallen, and +searched for his body, but in vain, although I found the spot where he +and the other man had struck, together with the bones of the latter, +which I recognized by the waist-cloth. Either some beast of prey had +carried Gobo off, or the Matuku people had disposed of his remains, and +also of my express rifle which he carried. At any rate, I never saw or +heard any more of him. + +"Once in Wambe's country, we adopted a very circumspect method of +proceeding. About fifty men marched ahead in loose order to guard +against surprise, while as many more followed behind. The remaining +hundred were gathered in a bunch between, and in the centre of these men +I marched, together with the girl who was personating Maiwa, and all my +bearers. We were disarmed, and some of my men were tied together to show +that we were prisoners, while the girl had a blanket thrown over her +head, and moved along with an air of great dejection. We headed straight +for Wambe's place, which was at a distance of about twenty-five miles +from the mountain-pass. + +"When we had gone some five miles we met a party of about fifty of +Wambe's soldiers, who were evidently on the look-out for us. They +stopped us, and their captain asked where we were going. The head man +of our party answered that he was conveying Maiwa, Wambe's runaway wife, +together with the white hunter and his men, to be given up to Wambe in +accordance with his command. The captain then wanted to know why we +were so many, to which our spokesman replied that I and my men were very +desperate fellows, and that it was feared that if we were sent with a +smaller escort we should escape, and bring disgrace and the wrath of +Wambe upon their tribe. Thereon this gentleman, the Matuku captain, +began to amuse himself at my expense, and mock me, saying that Wambe +would make me pay for the soldiers whom I had killed. He would put me +into the 'Thing that bites,' in other words, the lion trap, and leave me +there to die like a jackal caught by the leg. I made no answer to this, +though my wrath was great, but pretended to look frightened. Indeed +there was not much pretence about it, I was frightened. I could not +conceal from myself that ours was a most hazardous enterprise, and that +it was very possible that I might make acquaintance with that lion trap +before I was many days older. However, it seemed quite impossible to +desert poor Every in his misfortune, so I had to go on, and trust to +Providence, as I have so often been obliged to do before and since. + +"And now a fresh difficulty arose. Wambe's soldiers insisted upon +accompanying us, and what is more, did all they could to urge us +forward, as they were naturally anxious to get to the chief's place +before evening. But we, on the other hand, had excellent reasons for not +arriving till night was closing in, since we relied upon the gloom to +cover our advance upon the koppie which commanded the town. Finally, +they became so importunate that we were obliged to refuse flatly to +move faster, alleging as a reason that the girl was tired. They did +not accept this excuse in good part, and at one time I thought that we +should have come to blows, for there is no love lost between Butianas +and Matukus. At last, however, either from motives of policy, or because +they were so evidently outnumbered, they gave in and suffered us to +go our own pace. I earnestly wished that they would have added to the +obligation by going theirs, but this they declined absolutely to do. On +the contrary, they accompanied us every foot of the way, keeping up a +running fire of allusions to the 'Thing that bites' that jarred upon my +nerves and discomposed my temper. + +"About half-past four in the afternoon we came to a neck or ridge of +stony ground, whence we could see Wambe's town plainly lying some six or +seven miles away, and three thousand feet beneath us. The town is built +in a valley, with the exception of Wambe's own kraal, that is situated +at the mouth of some caves upon the slope of the opposing mountains, +over which I hoped to see our impi's spears flashing in the morrow's +light. Even from where we stood, it was easy to see how strongly the +place was fortified with schanses and stone walls, and how difficult +of approach. Indeed, unless taken by surprise, it seemed to me quite +impregnable to a force operating without cannon, and even cannon would +not make much impression on rocks and stony koppies filled with caves. + +"Then came the descent of the pass, and an arduous business it was, for +the path--if it may be called a path--is almost entirely composed of +huge water-worn boulders, from the one to the other of which we must +jump like so many grasshoppers. It took us two hours to climb down, +and, travelling through that burning sun, when at last we did reach the +bottom, I for one was nearly played out. Shortly afterwards, just as +it was growing dark, we came to the first line of fortifications, which +consisted of a triple stone wall pierced by a gateway, so narrow that +a man could hardly squeeze through it. We passed this without question, +being accompanied by Wambe's soldiers. Then, came a belt of land three +hundred paces or more in width, very rocky and broken, and having no +huts upon it. Here in hollows in this belt the cattle were kraaled in +case of danger. On the further side were more fortifications and another +small gateway shaped like a V, and just beyond and through it I saw the +koppie we had planned to seize looming up against the line of mountains +behind. + +"As we went I whispered my suggestions to our captain, with the result +that at the second gateway he halted the cavalcade, and addressing +the captain of Wambe's soldiers, said that we would wait here till we +received Wambe's word to enter the town. The other man said that this +was well, only he must hand over the prisoners to be taken up to the +chief's kraal, for Wambe, was 'hungry to begin upon them,' and his +'heart desired to see the white man at rest before he closed his eyes in +sleep,' and as for his wife, 'surely he would welcome her.' Our leader +replied that he could not do this thing, because his orders were to +deliver the prisoners to Wambe at Wambe's own kraal, and they might not +be broken. How could he be responsible for the safety of the prisoners +if he let them out of his hand? No, they would wait there till Wambe's +word was brought. + +"To this, after some demur, the other man consented, and went away, +remarking that he would soon be back. As he passed me he called out +with a sneer, pointing as he did so to the fading red in the western +sky--'Look your last upon the light, White Man, for the "Thing that +bites" lives in the dark.' + +"Next day it so happened that I shot this man, and, do you know, I think +that he is about the only human being who has come to harm at my hands +for whom I do not feel sincere sorrow and, in a degree, remorse." + + + + +VII--THE ATTACK + +"Just where we halted ran a little stream of water. I looked at it, and +an idea struck me: probably there would be no water on the koppie. I +suggested this to our captain, and, acting on the hint, he directed all +the men to drink what they could, and also to fill the seven or eight +cooking pots which we carried with us with water. Then came the crucial +moment. How were we to get possession of the koppie? When the captain +asked me, I said that I thought that we had better march up and take +it, and this accordingly we went on to do. When we came to the narrow +gateway we were, as I expected stopped by two soldiers who stood on +guard there and asked our business. The captain answered that we had +changed our minds, and would follow on to Wambe's kraal. The soldiers +said no, we must now wait. + +"To this we replied by pushing them to one side and marching in single +file through the gateway, which was not distant more than a hundred +yards from the koppie. While we were getting through, the men we had +pushed away ran towards the town calling for assistance, a call that was +promptly responded to, for in another minute we saw scores of armed men +running hard in our direction. So we ran too, for the koppie. As soon as +they understood what we were after, which they did not at first, owing +to the dimness of the light, they did their best to get there before us. +But we had the start of them, and with the exception of one unfortunate +man who stumbled and fell, we were well on to the koppie before +they arrived. This man they captured, and when fighting began on the +following morning, and he refused to give any information, they killed +him. Luckily they had no time to torture him, or they would certainly +have done so, for these Matuku people are very fond of torturing their +enemies. + +"When we reached the koppie, the base of which covers about half an acre +of ground, the soldiers who had been trying to cut us off halted, for +they knew the strength of the position. This gave us a few minutes +before the light had quite vanished to reconnoitre the place. We found +that it was unoccupied, fortified with a regular labyrinth of stone +walls, and contained three large caves and some smaller ones. The next +business was to post the soldiers to such advantage as time would allow. +My own men I was careful to place quite at the top. They were perfectly +useless from terror, and I feared that they might try to escape and give +information of our plans to Wambe. So I watched them like the apple of +my eye, telling them that should they dare to stir they would be shot. + +"Then it grew quite dark, and presently out of the darkness I heard +a voice--it was that of the leader of the soldiers who had escorted +us--calling us to come down. We replied that it was too dark to move, we +should hit our feet against the stones. He insisted upon our descending, +and we flatly refused, saying that if any attempt was made to dislodge +us we would fire. After that, as they had no real intention of attacking +us in the dark, the men withdrew, but we saw from the fires which were +lit around that they were keeping a strict watch upon our position. + +"That night was a wearing one, for we never quite knew how the situation +was going to develop. Fortunately we had some cooked food with us, so +we did not starve. It was lucky, however, that we drunk our fill before +coming up, for, as I had anticipated, there was not a drop of water on +the koppie. + +"At length the night wore away, and with the first tinge of light I +began to go my rounds, and stumbling along the stony paths, to make +things as ready as I could for the attack, which I felt sure would be +delivered before we were two hours older. The men were cramped and cold, +and consequently low-spirited, but I exhorted them to the best of my +ability, bidding them remember the race from which they sprang, and not +to show the white feather before a crowd of Matuku dogs. At length it +began to grow light, and presently I saw long columns of men advancing +towards the koppie. They halted under cover at a distance of about +a hundred and fifty yards, and just as the dawn broke a herald came +forward and called to us. Our captain stood up upon a rock and answered +him. + +"'These are the words of Wambe,' the herald said. 'Come forth from the +koppie, and give over the evil-doers, and go in peace, or stay in the +koppie and be slain.' + +"'It is too early to come out as yet,' answered our man in fine +diplomatic style. 'When the sun sucks up the mist then we will come out. +Our limbs are stiff with cold.' + +"'Come forth even now,' said the herald. + +"'Not if I know it, my boy,' said I to myself; but the captain replied +that he would come out when he thought proper, and not before. + +"'Then make ready to die,' said the herald, for all the world like the +villain of a transpontine piece, and majestically stalked back to the +soldiers. + +"I made my final arrangements, and looked anxiously at the mountain +crest a couple of miles or so away, from which the mist was now +beginning to lift, but no column of smoke could I see. I whistled, +for if the attacking force had been delayed or made any mistake, our +position was likely to grow rather warm. We had barely enough water to +wet the mouths of the men, and when once it was finished we could not +hold the place for long in that burning heat. + +"At length, just as the sun rose in glory over the heights behind us, +the Matuku soldiers, of whom about fifteen hundred were now assembled, +set up a queer whistling noise, which ended in a chant. Then some shots +were fired, for the Matuku had a few guns, but without effect, though +one bullet passed just by a man's head. + +"'Now they are going to begin,' I thought to myself, and I was not +far wrong, for in another minute the body of men divided into three +companies, each about five hundred strong, and, heralded by a running +fire, charged at us on three sides. Our men were now all well under +cover, and the fire did us no harm. I mounted on a rock so as to command +a view of as much of the koppie and plain as possible, and yelled to our +men to reserve their fire till I gave the word, and then to shoot low +and load as quickly as possible. I knew that, like all natives, they +were sure to be execrable shots, and that they were armed with weapons +made out of old gas-pipes, so the only chance of doing execution was to +let the enemy get right on to us. + +"On they came with a rush; they were within eighty yards now, and as +they drew near the point of attack, I observed that they closed their +ranks, which was so much the better for us. + +"'Shall we not fire, my father?' sung out the captain. + +"'No, confound you!' I answered. + +"'Sixty yards--fifty--forty--thirty. Fire, you scoundrels!' I yelled, +setting the example by letting off both barrels of my elephant gun into +the thickest part of the company opposite to me. + +"Instantly the place rang out with the discharge of two hundred and odd +guns, while the air was torn by the passage of every sort of missile, +from iron pot legs down to slugs and pebbles coated with lead. The +result was very prompt. The Matukus were so near that we could not miss +them, and at thirty yards a lead-coated stone out of a gas-pipe is as +effective as a Martini rifle, or more so. Over rolled the attacking +soldiers by the dozen, while the survivors, fairly frightened, took to +their heels. We plied them with shot till they were out of range--I made +it very warm for them with the elephant gun, by the way--and then we +loaded up in quite a cheerful frame of mind, for we had not lost a man, +whereas I could count more than fifty dead and wounded Matukus. The only +thing that damped my ardour was that, stare as I would, I could see no +column of smoke upon the mountain crest. + +"Half an hour elapsed before any further steps were taken against us. +Then the attacking force adopted different tactics. Seeing that it +was very risky to try to rush us in dense masses, they opened out into +skirmishing order and ran across the open space in lots of five and six. +As it happened, right at the foot of the koppie the ground broke away a +little in such fashion that it was almost impossible for us to search +it effectually with our fire. On the hither side of this dip Wambe's +soldiers were now congregating in considerable numbers. Of course we did +them as much damage as we could while they were running across, but this +sort of work requires good shots, and that was just what we had not got. +Another thing was, that so many of our men would insist upon letting off +the things they called guns at every little knot of the enemy that ran +across. Thus, the first few lots were indeed practically swept away, but +after that, as it took a long while to load the gas-pipes and old flint +muskets, those who followed got across in comparative safety. For my own +part, I fired away with the elephant gun and repeating carbine till they +grew almost too hot to hold, but my individual efforts could do nothing +to stop such a rush, or perceptibly to lessen the number of our enemies. + +"At length there were at least a thousand men crowded into the dip of +ground within a few yards of us, whence those of them who had guns kept +up a continued fusillade upon the koppie. They killed two of my bearers +in this way, and wounded a third, for being at the top of the koppie +these men were most exposed to the fire from the dip at its base. Seeing +that the situation was growing most serious, at length, by the dint of +threats and entreaties, I persuaded the majority of our people to cease +firing useless shots, to reload, and prepare for the rush. Scarcely had +I done so when the enemy came for us with a roar. I am bound to say that +I should never have believed that Matukus had it in them to make such +a determined charge. A large party rushed round the base of the koppie, +and attacked us in flank, while the others swarmed wherever they could +get a foothold, so that we were taken on every side. + +"'_Fire!_' I cried, and we did with terrible effect. Many of their men +fell, but though we checked we could not stop them. They closed up and +rushed the first fortification, killing a good number of its defenders. +It was almost all cold steel work now, for we had no time to reload, and +that suited the Butiana habits of fighting well enough, for the stabbing +assegai is a weapon which they understand. Those of our people who +escaped from the first line of walls took refuge in the second, where +I stood myself, encouraging them, and there the fight raged fiercely. +Occasionally parties of the enemy would force a passage, only to perish +on the hither side beneath the Butiana spears. But still they kept +it up, and I saw that, fight as we would, we were doomed. We were +altogether outnumbered, and to make matters worse, fresh bodies +of soldiers were pouring across the plain to the assistance of our +assailants. So I made up my mind to direct a retreat into the caves, +and there expire in a manner as heroic as circumstances would allow; and +while mentally lamenting my hard fate and reflecting on my sins I fought +away like a fiend. It was then, I remember, that I shot my friend the +captain of our escort of the previous day. He had caught sight of +me, and making a vicious dig at my stomach with a spear (which I +successfully dodged), shouted out, or rather began to shout out, one of +his unpleasant allusions to the 'Thing that----' He never got as far as +'bites,' because I shot him after 'that.' + +"Well, the game was about up. Already I saw one man throw down his spear +in token of surrender--which act of cowardice cost him his life, by the +way--when suddenly a shout arose. + +"'Look at the mountain,' they cried; 'there is an impi on the mountain +side.' + +"I glanced up, and there sure enough, about half-way down the mountain, +nearing the first fortification, the long-plumed double line of Nala's +warriors was rushing down to battle, the bright light of the morning +glancing on their spears. Afterwards we discovered that the reason of +their delay was that they had been stopped by a river in flood, and +could not reach the mountain crest by dawn. When they did reach it, +however, they saw instantly that the fight was already going on, was +'in flower,' as they put it, and so advanced at once without waiting to +light signal-fires. + +"Meanwhile they had been observed from the town, and parties of soldiers +were charging up the steep side of the hill, to occupy the schanses, and +the second line of fortifications behind them. The first line they did +not now attempt to reach or defend; Nala pressed them too close. +But they got to the schanses or pits protected with stone walls, and +constructed to hold from a dozen to twenty men, and soon began to open +fire from them, and from isolated rocks. I turned my eyes to the gates +of the town, which were placed to the north and south. Already they were +crowded with hundreds of fugitive women and children flying to the rocks +and caves for shelter from the foe. + +"As for ourselves, the appearance of Nala's impi produced a wonderful +change for the better in our position. The soldiers attacking us turned, +realizing that the town was being assailed from the rear, and clambering +down the koppie streamed off to protect their homes against this new +enemy. In five minutes there was not a man left except those who would +move no more, or were too sorely wounded to escape. I felt inclined to +ejaculate '_Saved!_' like the gentleman in the play, but did not because +the occasion was too serious. What I did do was to muster all the men +and reckon up our losses. They amounted to fifty-one killed and wounded, +sixteen men having been killed outright. Then I sent men with the +cooking-pots to the stream of water, and we drank. This done I set my +bearers, being the most useless part of the community, from a fighting +point of view, to the task of attending the injured, and turned to watch +the fray. + +"By this time Nala's impi had climbed the first line of fortifications +without opposition, and was advancing in a long line upon the schanses +or pits which were scattered about between it and the second line, +singing a war chant as it came. Presently puffs of smoke began to start +from the schanses, and with my glasses I could see several of our men +falling over. Then as they came opposite a schanse that portion of the +long line of warriors would thicken up and charge it with a wild rush. I +could see them leap on to the walls and vanish into the depths beneath, +some of their number falling backward on each occasion, shot or stabbed +to death. + +"Next would come another act in the tragedy. Out from the hither side of +the schanse would pour such of its defenders as were left alive, perhaps +three or four and perhaps a dozen, running for dear life, with the war +dogs on their tracks. One by one they would be caught, then up flashed +the great spear and down fell the pursued--dead. I saw ten of our men +leap into one large schanse, but though I watched for some time nobody +came out. Afterwards we inspected the place and found these men all +dead, together with twenty-three Matukus. Neither side would give in, +and they had fought it out to the bitter end. + +"At last they neared the second line of fortifications, behind which +the whole remaining Matuku force, numbering some two thousand men, was +rapidly assembling. One little pause to get their breath, and Nala's men +came at it with a rush and a long wild shout of '_Bulala Matuku_' (kill +the Matuku) that went right through me, thrilling every nerve. Then came +an answering shout, and the sounds of heavy firing, and presently I saw +our men retreating, somewhat fewer in numbers than they had advanced. +Their welcome had been a warm one for the Matuku fight splendidly behind +walls. This decided me that it was necessary to create a diversion; if +we did not do so it seemed very probable that we should be worsted after +all. I called to the captain of our little force, and rapidly put the +position before him. + +"Seeing the urgency of the occasion, he agreed with me that we must risk +it, and in two minutes more, with the exception of my own men, whom I +left to guard the wounded, we were trotting across the open space and +through the deserted town towards the spot where the struggle was taking +place, some seven hundred yards away. In six or eight minutes we reached +a group of huts--it was a head man's kraal, that was situated about a +hundred and twenty yards behind the fortified wall, and took possession +of it unobserved. The enemy was too much engaged with the foe in front +of him to notice us, and besides, the broken ground rose in a hog-back +shape between. There we waited a minute or two and recovered our breath, +while I gave my directions. So soon as we heard the Butiana impi begin +to charge again, we were to run out in a line to the brow of the hogback +and pour our fire into the mass of defenders behind the wall. Then the +guns were to be thrown down and we must charge with the assegai. We +had no shields, but that could not be helped; there would be no time to +reload the guns, and it was absolutely necessary that the enemy should +be disconcerted at the moment when the main attack was delivered. + +"The men, who were as plucky a set of fellows as ever I saw, and whose +blood was now thoroughly up, consented to this scheme, though I could +see that they thought it rather a large order, as indeed I did myself. +But I knew that if the impi was driven back a second time the game would +be played, and for me at any rate it would be a case of the 'Thing +that bites,' and this sure and certain knowledge filled my breast with +valour. + +"We had not long to wait. Presently we heard the Butiana war-song +swelling loud and long; they had commenced their attack. I made a sign, +and the hundred and fifty men, headed by myself, poured out of the +kraal, and getting into a rough line ran up the fifty or sixty yards of +slope that intervened between ourselves and the crest of the hog-backed +ridge. In thirty seconds we were there, and immediately beyond us was +the main body of the Matuku host waiting the onslaught of the enemy with +guns and spears. Even now they did not see us, so intent were they upon +the coming attack. I signed to my men to take careful aim, and suddenly +called out to them to fire, which they did with a will, dropping thirty +or forty Matukus. + +"'_Charge!_' I shouted, again throwing down my smoking rifle and drawing +my revolver, an example which they followed, snatching up their spears +from the ground where they had placed them while they fired. The men +set up a savage whoop, and we started. I saw the Matuku soldiers wheel +around in hundreds, utterly taken aback at this new development of the +situation. And looking over them, before we had gone twenty yards I +saw something else. For of a sudden, as though they had risen from the +earth, there appeared above the wall hundreds of great spears, followed +by hundreds of savage faces shadowed with drooping plumes. With a yell +they sprang upon the wall shaking their broad shields, and with a yell +they bounded from it straight into our astonished foes. + +"_Crash!_ we were in them now, and fighting like demons. _Crash!_ from +the other side. Nala's impi was at its work, and still the spears +and plumes appeared for a moment against the brown background of the +mountain, and then sprang down and rushed like a storm upon the foe. +The great mob of men turned this way and turned that way, astonished, +bewildered, overborne by doubt and terror. + +"Meanwhile the slayers stayed not their hands, and on every side spears +flashed, and the fierce shout of triumph went up to heaven. There too on +the wall stood Maiwa, a white garment streaming from her shoulders, an +assegai in her hand, her breast heaving, her eyes flashing. Above all +the din of battle I could catch the tones of her clear voice as she +urged the soldiers on to victory. But victory was not yet. Wambe's +soldiers gathered themselves together, and bore our men back by the +sheer weight of numbers. They began to give, then once more they +rallied, and the fight hung doubtfully. + +"'Slay, you war-whelps,' cried Maiwa from the wall. 'Are you afraid, +you women, you chicken-hearted women! Strike home, or die like dogs! +What--you give way! Follow me, children of Nala.' And with one long cry +she leapt from the wall as leaps a stricken antelope, and holding the +spear poised rushed right into the thickest of the fray. The warriors +saw her, and raised such a shout that it echoed like thunder against the +mountains. They massed together, and following the flutter of her white +robe crashed into the dense heart of the foe. Down went the Matuku +before them like trees before a whirlwind. Nothing could stand in the +face of such a rush as that. It was as the rush of a torrent bursting +its banks. All along their line swept the wild desperate charge; and +there, straight in the forefront of the battle, still waved the white +robe of Maiwa. + +"Then they broke, and, stricken with utter panic, Wambe's soldiers +streamed away a scattered crowd of fugitives, while after them thundered +the footfall of the victors. + +"The fight was over, we had won the day; and for my part I sat down upon +a stone and wiped my forehead, thanking Providence that I had lived to +see the end of it. Twenty minutes later Nala's warriors began to return +panting. 'Wambe's soldiers had taken to the bush and the caves,' they +said, 'where they had not thought it safe to follow them,' adding +significantly, that many had stopped on the way. + +"I was utterly dazed, and now that the fight was over my energy seemed +to have left me, and I did not pay much attention, till presently I was +aroused by somebody calling me by my name. I looked up, and saw that it +was the chief Nala himself, who was bleeding from a flesh wound in his +arm. By his side stood Maiwa panting, but unhurt, and wearing on her +face a proud and terrifying air. + +"'They are gone, Macumazahn,' said the chief; 'there is little to fear +from them, their heart is broken. But where is Wambe the chief?--and +where is the white man thou camest to save?' + +"'I know not,' I answered. + +"Close to where we stood lay a Matuku, a young man who had been shot +through the fleshy part of the calf. It was a trifling wound, but it +prevented him from running away. + +"'Say, thou dog,' said Nala, stalking up to him and shaking his red +spear in his face, 'say, where is Wambe? Speak, or I slay thee. Was he +with the soldiers?' + +"'Nay, lord, I know not,' groaned the terrified man, 'he fought not +with us; Wambe has no stomach for fighting. Perchance he is in his kraal +yonder, or in the cave behind the kraal,' and he pointed to a small +enclosure on the hillside, about four hundred yards to the right of +where we were. + +"'Let us go and see,' said Nala, summoning his soldiers." + + + + +VIII--MAIWA IS AVENGED + +"The impi formed up; alas, an hour before it had been stronger by a +third than it was now. Then Nala detached two hundred men to collect +and attend to the injured, and at my suggestion issued a stringent order +that none of the enemy's wounded, and above all no women or children, +were to be killed, as is the savage custom among African natives. On the +contrary, they were to be allowed to send word to their women that they +might come in to nurse them and fear nothing, for Nala made war upon +Wambe the tyrant, and not on the Matuku tribe. + +"Then we started with some four hundred men for the chief's kraal. Very +soon we were there. It was, as I have said, placed against the mountain +side, but within the fortified lines, and did not at all cover more +than an acre and a half of ground. Outside was a tiny reed fence, within +which, neatly arranged in a semi-circular line, stood the huts of the +chief's principal wives. Maiwa of course knew every inch of the kraal, +for she had lived in it, and led us straight to the entrance. We peeped +through the gateway--not a soul was to be seen. There were the huts and +there was the clear open space floored with a concrete of lime, on which +the sun beat fiercely, but nobody could we see or hear. + +"'The jackal has gone to earth,' said Maiwa; 'he will be in the cave +behind his hut,' and she pointed with her spear towards another small +and semi-circular enclosure, over which a large hut was visible, that +had the cliff itself for a background. I stared at this fence; by +George! it was true, it was entirely made of tusks of ivory planted in +the ground with their points bending outwards. The smallest ones, though +none were small, were placed nearest to the cliff on either side, but +they gradually increased in size till they culminated in two enormous +tusks, which, set up so that their points met, something in the shape of +an inverted V, formed the gateway to the hut. I was dumbfoundered with +delight; and indeed, where is the elephant-hunter who would not be, if +he suddenly saw five or six hundred picked tusks set up in a row, and +only waiting for him to take them away? Of course the stuff was what is +known as 'black' ivory; that is, the exterior of the tusks had become +black from years or perhaps centuries of exposure to wind and weather, +but I was certain that it would be none the worse for that. Forgetting +the danger of the deed, in my excitement I actually ran right across +the open space, and drawing my knife scratched vigorously at one of the +great tusks to see how deep the damage might be. As I thought, it was +nothing; there beneath the black covering gleamed the pure white ivory. +I could have capered for joy, for I fear that I am very mercenary at +heart, when suddenly I heard the faint echo of a cry for assistance. +'Help!' screamed a voice in the Sisutu dialect from somewhere behind the +hut; 'help! they are murdering me.' + +"_I knew the voice_; it was John Every's. Oh, what a selfish brute was +I! For the moment that miserable ivory had driven the recollection of +him out of my head, and now--perhaps it was too late. + +"Nala, Maiwa, and the soldiers had now come up. They too heard the voice +and interpreted its tone, though they had not caught the words. + +"'This way,' cried Maiwa, and we started at a run, passing round the hut +of Wambe. Behind was the narrow entrance to a cave. We rushed through +it heedless of the danger of the ambush, and this is what we saw, though +very confusedly at first, owing to the gloom. + +"In the centre of the cave, and with either end secured to the floor by +strong stakes, stood a huge double-springed lion trap edged with sharp +and grinning teeth. It was set, and beyond the trap, indeed almost over +it, a terrible struggle was in progress. A naked or almost naked white +man, with a great beard hanging down over his breast, in spite of his +furious struggles, was being slowly forced and dragged towards the trap +by six or eight women. Only one man was present, a fat, cruel-looking +man with small eyes and a hanging lip. It was the chief Wambe, and he +stood by the trap ready to force the victim down upon it so soon as the +women had dragged him into the necessary position. + +"At this instant they caught sight of us, and there came a moment's +pause, and then, before I knew what she was going to do, Maiwa lifted +the assegai she still held, and whirled it at Wambe's head. I saw the +flash of light speed towards him, and so did he, for he stepped backward +to avoid it--stepped backward right into the trap. He yelled with pain +as the iron teeth of the 'Thing that bites' sprang up with a rattling +sound like living fangs and fastened into him--such a yell I have not +often heard. Now at last he tasted of the torture which he had inflicted +upon so many, and though I trust I am a Christian, I cannot say that I +felt sorry for him. + +"The assegai sped on and struck one of the women who had hold of the +unfortunate Every, piercing through her arm. This made her leave go, an +example that the other women quickly followed, so that Every fell to the +ground, where he lay gasping. + +"'Kill the witches,' roared Nala, in a voice of thunder, pointing to the +group of women. + +"'Nay,' gasped Every, 'spare them. He made them do it,' and he pointed +to the human fiend in the trap. Then Maiwa waved her hand to us to +fall back, for the moment of her vengeance was come. We did so, and she +strode up to her lord, and flinging the white robe from her stood before +him, her fierce beautiful face fixed like stone. + +"'Who am I?' she cried in so terrible a voice that he ceased his yells. +'Am I that woman who was given to thee for wife, and whose child thou +slewest? Or am I an avenging spirit come to see thee die? + +"'What is this?' she went on, drawing the withered baby-hand from the +pouch at her side. + +"'Is it the hand of a babe? and how came that hand to be thus alone? +What cut it off from the babe? and where is the babe? Is it a hand? or +is it the vision of a hand that shall presently tear thy throat? + +"'Where are thy soldiers, Wambe? Do they sleep and eat and go forth to +do thy bidding? or are they perchance dead and scattered like the winter +leaves?' + +"He groaned and rolled his eyes while the fierce-faced woman went on. + +"'Art thou still a chief, Wambe? or does another take thy place and +power, and say, Lord, what doest thou there? and what is that slave's +leglet upon thy knee? + +"'Is it a dream, Wambe, great lord and chief? or'--and she lifted her +clenched hands and shook them in his face--'hath a woman's vengeance +found thee out and a woman's wit o'ermatched thy tyrannous strength? and +art thou about to slowly die in torments horrible to think on, oh, thou +accursed murderer of little children?' + +"And with one wild scream she dashed the dead hand of the child straight +into his face, and then fell senseless on the floor. As for the demon +in the trap, he shrank back so far as its iron bounds would allow, his +yellow eyes starting out of his head with pain and terror, and then once +more began to yell. + +"The scene was more than I could bear. + +"'Nala,' I said, 'this must stop. That man is a fiend, but he must not +be left to die there. See thou to it.' + +"'Nay," answered Nala, 'let him taste of the food wherewith he hath fed +so many; leave him till death shall find him.' + +"'That I will not,' I answered. 'Let his end be swift; see thou to it.' + +"'As thou wilt, Macumazahn,' answered the chief, with a shrug of the +shoulders; 'first let the white man and Maiwa be brought forth.' + +"So the soldiers came forward and carried Every and the woman into the +open air. As the former was borne past his tormentor, the fallen chief, +so cowardly was his wicked heart, actually prayed him to intercede +for him, and save him from a fate which, but for our providential +appearance, would have been Every's own. + +"So we went away, and in another moment one of the biggest villains on +the earth troubled it no more. Once in the fresh air Every recovered +quickly. I looked at him, and horror and sorrow pierced me through to +see such a sight. His face was the face of a man of sixty, though he +was not yet forty, and his poor body was cut to pieces with stripes and +scars, and other marks of the torments which Wambe had for years amused +himself with inflicting on him. + +"As soon as he recovered himself a little he struggled on to his +knees, burst into a paroxysm of weeping, and clasping my legs with his +emaciated arms, would have actually kissed my feet. + +"'What are you about, old fellow?' I said, for I am not accustomed to +that sort of thing, and it made me feel uncomfortable. + +"'Oh, God bless you?' he moaned, 'God bless you! If only you knew what +I have gone through; and to think that you should have come to help +me, and at the risk of your own life! Well, you were always a true +friend--yes, yes, a true friend.' + +"'Bosh,' I answered testily; 'I'm a trader, and I came after that +ivory,' and I pointed to the stockade of tusks. 'Did you ever hear of +an elephant-hunter who would not have risked his immortal soul for them, +and much more his carcase?' + +"But he took no notice of my explanations, and went on God blessing me +as hard as ever, till at last I bethought me that a nip of brandy, of +which I had a flask full, might steady his nerves a bit. I gave it him, +and was not disappointed in the result, for he brisked up wonderfully. +Then I hunted about in Wambe's hut, and found a kaross to put over his +poor bruised shoulders, and he was quite a man again. + +"'Now,' I said, 'why did the late lamented Wambe want to put you in that +trap?' + +"'Because as soon as they heard that the fight was going against them, +and that Maiwa was charging at the head of Nala's impi, one of the women +told Wambe that she had seen me write something on some leaves and give +them to Maiwa before she went away to purify herself. Then of course +he guessed that I had to do with your seizing the koppie and holding it +while the impi rushed the place from the mountain, so he determined to +torture me to death before help could come. Oh, heavens! what a mercy it +is to hear English again.' + +"'How long have you been a prisoner here, Every?' I asked. + +"'Six years and a bit, Quatermain; I have lost count of the odd months +lately. I came up here with Major Aldey and three other gentlemen and +forty bearers. That devil Wambe ambushed us, and murdered the lot to +get their guns. They weren't much use to him when he got them, being +breech-loaders, for the fools fired away all the ammunition in a month +or two. However, they are all in good order, and hanging up in the hut +there. They didn't kill me because one of them saw me mending a gun just +before they attacked us, so they kept me as a kind of armourer. Twice +I tried to make a bolt of it, but was caught each time. Last time Wambe +had me flogged very nearly to death--you can see the scars upon my back. +Indeed I should have died if it hadn't been for the girl Maiwa, who +nursed me by stealth. He got that accursed lion trap among our things +also, and I suppose he has tortured between one and two hundred people +to death in it. It was his favourite amusement, and he would go every +day and sit and watch his victim till he died. Sometimes he would give +him food and water to keep him alive longer, telling him or her that he +would let him go if he lived till a certain day. But he never did let +them go. They all died there, and I could show you their bones behind +that rock.' + +"'The devil!' I said, grinding my teeth. 'I wish I hadn't interfered; I +wish I had left him to the same fate.' + +"'Well, he got a taste of it any way,' said Every; 'I'm glad he got +a taste. There's justice in it, and now he's gone to hell, and I hope +there is another one ready for him there. By Jove! I should like to have +the setting of it.' + +"And so he talked on, and I sat and listened to him, wondering how he +had kept his reason for so many years. But he didn't talk as I have told +it, in plain English. He spoke very slowly, and as though he had got +something in his mouth, continually using native words because the +English ones had slipped his memory. + +"At last Nala came up and told us that food was made ready, and thankful +enough we were to get it, I can tell you. After we had eaten we held +a consultation. Quite a thousand of Wambe's soldiers were put _hors +de combat_, but at least two thousand remained hidden in the bush and +rocks, and these men, together with those in the outlying kraals, were a +source of possible danger. The question arose, therefore, what was to +be done--were they to be followed or left alone? I waited till everybody +had spoken, some giving one opinion and some another, and then being +appealed to I gave mine. It was to the effect that Nala should take a +leaf out of the great Zulu T'Chaka's book, and incorporate the tribe, +not destroy it. We had a good many women among the prisoners. Let them, +I suggested, be sent to the hiding-places of the soldiers and make +an offer. If the men would come and lay down their arms and declare +allegiance to Nala, they and their town and cattle should be spared. +Wambe's cattle alone would be seized as the prize of war. Moreover, +Wambe having left no children, his wife Maiwa should be declared +chieftainess of the tribe, under Nala. If they did not accept this offer +by the morning of the second day it should be taken as a declaration +that they wished to continue the war. Their town should be burned, their +cattle, which our men were already collecting and driving in in great +numbers, would be taken, and they should be hunted down. + +"This advice was at once declared to be wise, and acted on. The women +were despatched, and I saw from their faces that they never expected to +get such terms, and did not think that their mission would be in vain. +Nevertheless, we spent that afternoon in preparations against possible +surprise, and also in collecting all the wounded of both parties into a +hospital, which we extemporized out of some huts, and there attending to +them as best we could. + +"That evening Every had the first pipe of tobacco that he had tasted +for six years. Poor fellow, he nearly cried with joy over it. The night +passed without any sign of attack, and on the following morning we began +to see the effect of our message, for women, children, and a few men +came in in little knots, and took possession of their huts. It was of +course rather difficult to prevent our men from looting, and generally +going on as natives, and for the matter of that white men too, are in +the habit of doing after a victory. But one man who after warning was +caught maltreating a woman was brought out and killed by Nala's order, +and though there was a little grumbling, that put a stop to further +trouble. + +"On the second morning the head men and numbers of their followers came +in in groups, and about midday a deputation of the former presented +themselves before us without their weapons. They were conquered, they +said, and Wambe was dead, so they came to hear the words of the great +lion who had eaten them up, and of the crafty white man, the jackal, who +had dug a hole for them to fall in, and of Maiwa, Lady of War, who had +led the charge and turned the fate of the battle. + +"So we let them hear the words, and when we had done an old man rose and +said, that in the name of the people he accepted the yoke that was laid +upon their shoulders, and that the more gladly because even the rule of +a woman could not be worse than the rule of Wambe. Moreover, they knew +Maiwa, the Lady of War, and feared her not, though she was a witch and +terrible to see in battle. + +"Then Nala asked his daughter if she was willing to become chieftainess +of the tribe under him. + +"Maiwa, who had been very silent since her revenge was accomplished, +answered yes, that she was, and that her rule should be good and gentle +to those who were good and gentle to her, but the froward and rebellious +she would smite with a rod of iron; which from my knowledge of her +character I thought exceedingly probable. + +"The head man replied that that was a good saying, and they did not +complain at it, and so the meeting ended. + +"Next day we spent in preparations for departure. Mine consisted chiefly +in superintending the digging up of the stockade of ivory tusks, which I +did with the greatest satisfaction. There were some five hundred of them +altogether. I made inquiries about it from Every, who told me that the +stockade had been there so long that nobody seemed to know exactly +who had collected the tusks originally. There was, however, a kind of +superstitious feeling about them which had always prevented the chiefs +from trying to sell this great mass of ivory. Every and I examined it +carefully, and found that although it was so old its quality was really +as good as ever, and there was very little soft ivory in the lot. At +first I was rather afraid lest, now that my services had been rendered, +Nala should hesitate to part with so much valuable property, but this +was not the case. When I spoke to him on the subject he merely said, +'Take it, Macumazahn, take it; you have earned it well,' and, to speak +the truth, though I say it who shouldn't, I think I had. So we pressed +several hundred Matuku bearers into our service, and next day marched +off with the lot. + +"Before we went I took a formal farewell of Maiwa, whom we left with a +bodyguard of three hundred men to assist her in settling the country. +She gave me her hand to kiss in a queenly sort of way, and then said, + +"'Macumazahn, you are a brave man, and have been a friend to me in my +need. If ever you want help or shelter, remember that Maiwa has a good +memory for friend and foe. All I have is yours. + +"And so I thanked her and went. She was certainly a very remarkable +woman. A year or two ago I heard that her father Nala was dead, and that +she had succeeded to the chieftainship of both tribes, which she ruled +with great justice and firmness. + +"I can assure you that we ascended the pass leading to Wambe's town with +feelings very different from those with which we had descended it a +few days before. But if I was grateful for the issue of events, you can +easily imagine what poor Every's feelings were. When we got to the top +of the pass, before the whole impi he actually flopped down upon his +knees and thanked Heaven for his escape, the tears running down his +face. But then, as I have said, his nerves were shaken--though now that +his beard was trimmed and he had some sort of clothes on his back, and +hope in his heart, he looked a very different man from the poor wretch +whom we had rescued from death by torture. + +"Well, we separated from Nala at the little stairway or pass over the +mountain--Every and I and the ivory going down the river which I had +come up a few weeks before, and the chief returning to his own kraal on +the further side of the mountain. He gave us an escort of a hundred +and fifty men, however, with instructions to accompany us for six days' +journey, and to keep the Matuku bearers in order and then return. I knew +that in six days we should be able to reach a district where porters +were plentiful, and whence we could easily get the ivory conveyed to +Delagoa Bay." + +"And did you land it up safe?" I asked. + +"Well no," said Quatermain, "we lost about a third of it in crossing a +river. A flood came down suddenly just as the men were crossing and many +of them had to throw down their tusks to save their lives. We had no +means of dragging it up, and so we were obliged to leave it, which +was very sad. However, we sold what remained for nearly seven thousand +pounds, so we did not do so badly. I don't mean that I got seven +thousand pounds out of it, because, you see, I insisted upon Every +taking a half share. Poor fellow, he had earned it, if ever a man did. +He set up a store in the old colony on the proceeds and did uncommonly +well." + +"And what did you do with the lion trap?" asked Sir Henry. + +"Oh, I brought that away with me also, and when I reached Durban I put +it in my house. But really I could not bear to sit opposite to it at +nights as I smoked. Visions of that poor woman and the hand of her dead +child would rise up in my mind, and also of all the horrors of which it +had been the instrument. I began to dream at last that it held me by the +leg. This was too much for my nerves, so I just packed it up and shipped +it to its maker in England, whose name was stamped upon the steel, +sending him a letter at the same time to tell him to what purpose the +infernal machine had been put. I believe that he gave it to some museum +or other." + +"And what became of the tusks of the three bulls which you shot! You +must have left them at Nala's kraal, I suppose." + +The old gentleman's face fell at this question. + +"Ah," he said, "that is a very sad story. Nala promised to send them +with my goods to my agent at Delagoa, and so he did. But the men who +brought them were unarmed, and, as it happened, they fell in with a +slave caravan under the command of a half-bred Portuguese, who seized +the tusks, and what is worse, swore that he had shot them. I paid him +out afterwards, however," he added with a smile of satisfaction, "but it +did not give me back my tusks, which no doubt have been turned into hair +brushes long ago;" and he sighed. + +"Well," said Good, "that is a capital yarn of yours, Quatermain, +but----" + +"But what?" he asked sharply, foreseeing a draw. + +"But I don't think that it was so good as mine about the ibex--it hasn't +the same _finish_." + +Mr. Quatermain made no reply. Good was beneath it. + +"Do you know, gentlemen," he said, "it is half-past two in the morning, +and if we are going to shoot the big wood to-morrow we ought to leave +here at nine-thirty sharp." + +"Oh, if you shoot for a hundred years you will never beat the record of +those three woodcocks," I said. + +"Or of those three elephants," added Sir Henry. + +And then we all went to bed, and I dreamed that I had married Maiwa, and +was much afraid of that attractive but determined lady. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Maiwa's Revenge, by H. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@ihug.co.nz +Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com +and Emma Dudding, emma_302@hotmail.com + + + + + +Maiwa's Revenge +or +The War of the Little Hand + +by H. Rider Haggard + + + +PREFACE + + It may be well to state that the incident of the "Thing that + bites" recorded in this tale is not an effort of the imagination. + On the contrary, it is "plagiarized." Mandara, a well-known chief + on the east coast of Africa, has such an article, /and uses it/. + In the same way the wicked conduct attributed to Wambe is not + without a precedent. T'Chaka, the Zulu Napoleon, never allowed a + child of his to live. Indeed he went further, for on discovering + that his mother, Unandi, was bringing up one of his sons in + secret, like Nero he killed her, and with his own hand. + + + + + +MAIWA'S REVENGE + + + +I + +GOBO STRIKES + +One day--it was about a week after Allan Quatermain told me his story +of the "Three Lions," and of the moving death of Jim-Jim--he and I +were walking home together on the termination of a day's shooting. He +owned about two thousand acres of shooting round the place he had +bought in Yorkshire, over a hundred of which were wood. It was the +second year of his occupation of the estate, and already he had reared +a very fair head of pheasants, for he was an all-round sportsman, and +as fond of shooting with a shot-gun as with an eight-bore rifle. We +were three guns that day, Sir Henry Curtis, Old Quatermain, and +myself; but Sir Henry was obliged to leave in the middle of the +afternoon in order to meet his agent, and inspect an outlying farm +where a new shed was wanted. However, he was coming back to dinner, +and going to bring Captain Good with him, for Brayley Hall was not +more than two miles from the Grange. + +We had met with very fair sport, considering that we were only going +through outlying cover for cocks. I think that we had killed twenty- +seven, a woodcock and a leash of partridges which we secured out of a +driven covey. On our way home there lay a long narrow spinney, which +was a very favourite "lie" for woodcocks, and generally held a +pheasant or two as well. + +"Well, what do you say?" said old Quatermain, "shall we beat through +this for a finish?" + +I assented, and he called to the keeper who was following with a +little knot of beaters, and told him to beat the spinney. + +"Very well, sir," answered the man, "but it's getting wonderful dark, +and the wind's rising a gale. It will take you all your time to hit a +woodcock if the spinney holds one." + +"You show us the woodcocks, Jeffries," answered Quatermain quickly, +for he never liked being crossed in anything to do with sport, "and we +will look after shooting them." + +The man turned and went rather sulkily. I heard him say to the under- +keeper, "He's pretty good, the master is, I'm not saying he isn't, but +if he kills a woodcock in this light and wind, I'm a Dutchman." + +I think that Quatermain heard him too, though he said nothing. The +wind was rising every minute, and by the time the beat begun it blew +big guns. I stood at the right-hand corner of the spinney, which +curved round somewhat, and Quatermain stood at the left, about forty +paces from me. Presently an old cock pheasant came rocketing over me, +looking as though the feathers were being blown out of his tail. I +missed him clean with the first barrel, and was never more pleased +with myself in my life than when I doubled him up with the second, for +the shot was not an easy one. In the faint light I could see +Quatermain nodding his head in approval, when through the groaning of +the trees I heard the shouts of the beaters, "Cock forward, cock to +the right." Then came a whole volley of shouts, "Woodcock to the +right," "Cock to the left," "Cock over." + +I looked up, and presently caught sight of one of the woodcocks coming +down the wind upon me like a flash. In that dim light I could not +follow all his movements as he zigzagged through the naked tree-tops; +indeed I could see him when his wings flitted up. Now he was passing +me--/bang/, and a flick of the wing, I had missed him; /bang/ again. +Surely he was down; no, there he went to my left. + +"Cock to you," I shouted, stepping forward so as to get Quatermain +between me and the faint angry light of the dying day, for I wanted to +see if he would "wipe my eye." I knew him to be a wonderful shot, but +I thought that cock would puzzle him. + +I saw him raise his gun ever so little and bend forward, and at that +moment out flashed two woodcocks into the open, the one I had missed +to his right, and the other to his left. + +At the same time a fresh shout arose of, "Woodcock over," and looking +down the spinney I saw a third bird high up in the air, being blown +along like a brown and whirling leaf straight over Quatermain's head. +And then followed the prettiest little bit of shooting that I ever +saw. The bird to the right was flying low, not ten yards from the line +of a hedgerow, and Quatermain took him first because he would become +invisible the soonest of any. Indeed, nobody who had not his hawk's +eyes could have seen to shoot at all. But he saw the bird well enough +to kill it dead as a stone. Then turning sharply, he pulled on the +second bird at about forty-five yards, and over he went. By this time +the third woodcock was nearly over him, and flying very high, straight +down the wind, a hundred feet up or more, I should say. I saw him +glance at it as he opened his gun, threw out the right cartridge and +slipped in another, turning round as he did so. By this time the cock +was nearly fifty yards away from him, and travelling like a flash. +Lifting his gun he fired after it, and, wonderful as the shot was, +killed it dead. A tearing gust of wind caught the dead bird, and blew +it away like a leaf torn from an oak, so that it fell a hundred and +thirty yards off or more. + +"I say, Quatermain," I said to him when the beaters were up, "do you +often do this sort of thing?" + +"Well," he answered, with a dry smile, "the last time I had to load +three shots as quickly as that was at rather larger game. It was at +elephants. I killed them all three as dead as I killed those +woodcocks; but it very nearly went the other way, I can tell you; I +mean that they very nearly killed me." + +Just at that moment the keeper came up, "Did you happen to get one of +them there cocks, sir?" he said, with the air of a man who did not in +the least expect an answer in the affirmative. + +"Well, yes, Jeffries," answered Quatermain; "you will find one of them +by the hedge, and another about fifty yards out by the plough there to +the left----" + +The keeper had turned to go, looking a little astonished, when +Quatermain called him back. + +"Stop a bit, Jeffries," he said. "You see that pollard about one +hundred and forty yards off? Well, there should be another woodcock +down in a line with it, about sixty paces out in the field." + +"Well, if that bean't the very smartest bit of shooting," murmured +Jeffries, and departed. + +After that we went home, and in due course Sir Henry Curtis and +Captain Good arrived for dinner, the latter arrayed in the tightest +and most ornamental dress-suit I ever saw. I remember that the +waistcoat was adorned with five pink coral buttons. + +It was a very pleasant dinner. Old Quatermain was in an excellent +humour; induced, I think, by the recollection of his triumph over the +doubting Jeffries. Good, too, was full of anecdotes. He told us a most +miraculous story of how he once went shooting ibex in Kashmir. These +ibex, according to Good, he stalked early and late for four entire +days. At last on the morning of the fifth day he succeeded in getting +within range of the flock, which consisted of a magnificent old ram +with horns so long that I am afraid to mention their measure, and five +or six females. Good crawled upon his stomach, painfully taking +shelter behind rocks, till he was within two hundred yards; then he +drew a fine bead upon the old ram. At this moment, however, a +diversion occurred. Some wandering native of the hills appeared upon a +distant mountain top. The females turned, and rushing over a rock +vanished from Good's ken. But the old ram took a bolder course. In +front of him stretched a mighty crevasse at least thirty feet in +width. He went at it with a bound. Whilst he was in mid-air Good +fired, and killed him dead. The ram turned a complete somersault in +space, and fell in such fashion that his horns hooked themselves upon +a big projection of the opposite cliffs. There he hung, till Good, +after a long and painful dtour, gracefully dropped a lasso over him +and fished him up. + +This moving tale of wild adventure was received with undeserved +incredulity. + +"Well," said Good, "if you fellows won't believe my story when I tell +it--a perfectly true story mind--perhaps one of you will give us a +better; I'm not particular if it is true or not." And he lapsed into a +dignified silence. + +"Now, Quatermain," I said, "don't let Good beat you, let us hear how +you killed those elephants you were talking about this evening just +after you shot the woodcocks." + +"Well," said Quatermain, dryly, and with something like a twinkle in +his brown eyes, "it is very hard fortune for a man to have to follow +on Good's "spoor." Indeed if it were not for that running giraffe +which, as you will remember, Curtis, we saw Good bowl over with a +Martini rifle at three hundred yards, I should almost have said that +this was an impossible tale." + +Here Good looked up with an air of indignant innocence. + +"However," he went on, rising and lighting his pipe, "if you fellows +like, I will spin you a yarn. I was telling one of you the other night +about those three lions and how the lioness finished my unfortunate +'voorlooper,' Jim-Jim, the boy whom we buried in the bread-bag. + +"Well, after this little experience I thought that I would settle down +a bit, so I entered upon a venture with a man who, being of a +speculative mind, had conceived the idea of running a store at +Pretoria upon strictly cash principles. The arrangement was that I +should find the capital and he the experience. Our partnership was not +of a long duration. The Boers refused to pay cash, and at the end of +four months my partner had the capital and I had the experience. After +this I came to the conclusion that store-keeping was not in my line, +and having four hundred pounds left, I sent my boy Harry to a school +in Natal, and buying an outfit with what remained of the money, +started upon a big trip. + +"This time I determined to go further afield than I had ever been +before; so I took a passage for a few pounds in a trading brig that +ran between Durban and Delagoa Bay. From Delagoa Bay I marched inland +accompanied by twenty porters, with the idea of striking up north, +towards the Limpopo, and keeping parallel to the coast, but at a +distance of about one hundred and fifty miles from it. For the first +twenty days of our journey we suffered a good deal from fever, that +is, my men did, for I think that I am fever proof. Also I was hard put +to it to keep the camp in meat, for although the country proved to be +very sparsely populated, there was but little game about. Indeed, +during all that time I hardly killed anything larger than a waterbuck, +and, as you know, waterbuck's flesh is not very appetising food. On +the twentieth day, however, we came to the banks of a largish river, +the Gonooroo it was called. This I crossed, and then struck inland +towards a great range of mountains, the blue crests of which we could +see lying on the distant heavens like a shadow, a continuation, as I +believe, of the Drakensberg range that skirts the coast of Natal. From +this main range a great spur shoots out some fifty miles or so towards +the coast, ending abruptly in one tremendous peak. This spur I +discovered separated the territories of two chiefs named Nala and +Wambe, Wambe's territory being to the north, and Nala's to the south. +Nala ruled a tribe of bastard Zulus called the Butiana, and Wambe a +much larger tribe, called the Matuku, which presents marked Bantu +characteristics. For instance, they have doors and verandahs to their +huts, work skins perfectly, and wear a waistcloth and not a moocha. At +this time the Butiana were more or less subject to the Matuku, having +been surprised by them some twenty years before and mercilessly +slaughtered down. The tribe was now recovering itself, however, and as +you may imagine, it did not love the Matuku. + +"Well, I heard as I went along that elephants were very plentiful in +the dense forests which lie upon the slopes and at the foot of the +mountains that border Wambe's territory. Also I heard a very ill +report of that worthy himself, who lived in a kraal upon the side of +the mountain, which was so strongly fortified as to be practically +impregnable. It was said that he was the most cruel chief in this part +of Africa, and that he had murdered in cold blood an entire party of +English gentlemen, who, some seven years before, had gone into his +country to hunt elephants. They took an old friend of mine with them +as guide, John Every by name, and often had I mourned over his +untimely death. All the same, Wambe or no Wambe, I determined to hunt +elephants in his country. I never was afraid of natives, and I was not +going to show the white feather now. I am a bit of a fatalist, as you +fellows know, so I came to the conclusion that if it was fated that +Wambe should send me to join my old friend John Every, I should have +to go, and there was an end of it. Meanwhile, I meant to hunt +elephants with a peaceful heart. + +"On the third day from the date of our sighting the great peak, we +found ourselves beneath its shadow. Still following the course of the +river which wound through the forests at the base of the peak, we +entered the territory of the redoubtable Wambe. This, however, was not +accomplished without a certain difference of opinion between my +bearers and myself, for when we reached the spot where Wambe's +boundary was supposed to run, the bearers sat down and emphatically +refused to go a step further. I sat down too, and argued with them, +putting my fatalistic views before them as well as I was able. But I +could not persuade them to look at the matter in the same light. 'At +present,' they said, 'their skins were whole; if they went into +Wambe's country without his leave they would soon be like a water- +eaten leaf. It was very well for me to say that this would be Fate. +Fate no doubt might be walking about in Wambe's country, but while +they stopped outside they would not meet him.' + +"'Well,' I said to Gobo, my head man, 'and what do you mean to do?' + +"'We mean to go back to the coast, Macumazahn,' he answered +insolently. + +"'Do you?' I replied, for my bile was stirred. 'At any rate, Mr. Gobo, +you and one or two others will never get there; see here, my friend,' +and I took a repeating rifle and sat myself comfortably down, resting +my back against a tree--'I have just breakfasted, and I had as soon +spend the day here as anywhere else. Now if you or any of those men +walk one step back from here, and towards the coast, I shall fire at +you; and you know that I don't miss.' + +"The man fingered the spear he was carrying--luckily all my guns were +stacked against the tree--and then turned as though to walk away, the +others keeping their eyes fixed upon him all the while. I rose and +covered him with the rifle, and though he kept up a brave appearance +of unconcern, I saw that he was glancing nervously at me all the time. +When he had gone about twenty yards I spoke very quietly-- + +"'Now, Gobo,' I said, 'come back, or I shall fire.' + +"Of course this was taking a very high hand; I had no real right to +kill Gobo or anybody else because they objected to run the risk of +death by entering the territory of a hostile chief. But I felt that if +I wished to keep up any authority it was absolutely necessary that I +should push matters to the last extremity short of actually shooting +him. So I sat there, looking fierce as a lion, and keeping the sight +of my rifle in a dead line for Gobo's ribs. Then Gobo, feeling that +the situation was getting strained, gave in. + +"'Don't shoot, Boss,' he shouted, throwing up his hand, 'I will come +with you.' + +"'I thought you would,' I answered quietly; 'you see Fate walks about +outside Wambe's country as well as in it.' + +"After that I had no more trouble, for Gobo was the ringleader, and +when he collapsed the others collapsed also. Harmony being thus +restored, we crossed the line, and on the following morning I began +shooting in good earnest. + + + +II + +A MORNING'S SPORT + +"Moving some five or six miles round the base of the great peak of +which I have spoken, we came the same day to one of the fairest bits +of African country that I have seen outside of Kukuanaland. At this +spot the mountain spur that runs out at right angles to the great +range, which stretches its cloud-clad length north and south as far as +the eye can reach, sweeps inwards with a vast and splendid curve. This +curve measures some five-and-thirty miles from point to point, and +across its moon-like segment the river flashed, a silver line of +light. On the further side of the river is a measureless sea of +swelling ground, a natural park covered with great patches of bush-- +some of them being many square miles in extent. These are separated +one from another by glades of grass land, broken here and there with +clumps of timber trees; and in some instances by curious isolated +koppies, and even by single crags of granite that start up into the +air as though they were monuments carved by man, and not tombstones +set by nature over the grave of ages gone. On the west this beautiful +plain is bordered by the lonely mountain, from the edge of which it +rolls down toward the fever coast; but how far it runs to the north I +cannot say--eight days' journey, according to the natives, when it is +lost in an untravelled morass. + +"On the hither side of the river the scenery is different. Along the +edge of its banks, where the land is flat, are green patches of swamp. +Then comes a wide belt of beautiful grass land covered thickly with +game, and sloping up very gently to the borders of the forest, which, +beginning at about a thousand feet above the level of the plain, +clothes the mountain-side almost to its crest. In this forest grow +great trees, most of them of the yellow-wood species. Some of these +trees are so lofty, that a bird in their top branches would be out of +range of an ordinary shot gun. Another peculiar thing about them is, +that they are for the most part covered with a dense growth of the +Orchilla moss; and from this moss the natives manufacture a most +excellent deep purple dye, with which they stain tanned hides and also +cloth, when they happen to get any of the latter. I do not think that +I ever saw anything more remarkable than the appearance of one of +these mighty trees festooned from top to bottom with trailing wreaths +of this sad-hued moss, in which the wind whispers gently as it stirs +them. At a distance it looks like the gray locks of a Titan crowned +with bright green leaves, and here and there starred with the rich +bloom of orchids. + +"The night of that day on which I had my little difference of opinion +with Gobo, we camped by the edge of this great forest, and on the +following morning at daylight I started out shooting. As we were short +of meat I determined to kill a buffalo, of which there were plenty +about, before looking for traces of elephants. Not more than half a +mile from camp we came across a trail broad as a cart-road, evidently +made by a great herd of buffaloes which had passed up at dawn from +their feeding ground in the marshes, to spend the day in the cool air +of the uplands. This trail I followed boldly; for such wind as there +was blew straight down the mountain-side, that is, from the direction +in which the buffaloes had gone, to me. About a mile further on the +forest began to be dense, and the nature of the trail showed me that I +must be close to my game. Another two hundred yards and the bush was +so thick that, had it not been for the trail, we could scarcely have +passed through it. As it was, Gobo, who carried my eight-bore rifle +(for I had the .570-express in my hand), and the other two men whom I +had taken with me, showed the very strongest dislike to going any +further, pointing out that there was 'no room to run away.' I told +them that they need not come unless they liked, but that I was +certainly going on; and then, growing ashamed, they came. + +"Another fifty yards, and the trail opened into a little glade. I +knelt down and peeped and peered, but no buffalo could I see. +Evidently the herd had broken up here--I knew that from the spoor--and +penetrated the opposite bush in little troops. I crossed the glade, +and choosing one line of spoor, followed it for some sixty yards, when +it became clear to me that I was surrounded by buffaloes; and yet so +dense was the cover that I could not see any. A few yards to my left I +could hear one rubbing its horns against a tree, while from my right +came an occasional low and throaty grunt which told me that I was +uncomfortably near an old bull. I crept on towards him with my heart +in my mouth, as gently as though I were walking upon eggs for a bet, +lifting every little bit of wood in my path, and placing it behind me +lest it should crack and warn the game. After me in single file came +my three retainers, and I don't know which of them looked the most +frightened. Presently Gobo touched my leg; I glanced round, and saw +him pointing slantwise towards the left. I lifted my head a little and +peeped over a mass of creepers; beyond the creepers was a dense bush +of sharp-pointed aloes, of that kind of which the leaves project +laterally, and on the other side of the aloes, not fifteen paces from +us, I made out the horns, neck, and the ridge of the back of a +tremendous old bull. I took my eight-bore, and getting on to my knee +prepared to shoot him through the neck, taking my chance of cutting +his spine. I had already covered him as well as the aloe leaves would +allow, when he gave a kind of sigh and lay down. + +"I looked round in dismay. What was to be done now? I could not see to +shoot him lying down, even if my bullet would have pierced the +intervening aloes--which was doubtful--and if I stood up he would +either run away or charge me. I reflected, and came to the conclusion +that the only thing to do was to lie down also; for I did not fancy +wandering after other buffaloes in that dense bush. If a buffalo lies +down, it is clear that he must get up again some time, so it was only +a case of patience--'fighting the fight of sit down,' as the Zulus +say. + +"Accordingly I sat down and lighted a pipe, thinking that the smell of +it might reach the buffalo and make him get up. But the wind was the +wrong way, and it did not; so when it was done I lit another. +Afterwards I had cause to regret that pipe. + +"Well, we squatted like this for between half and three quarters of an +hour, till at length I began to grow heartily sick of the performance. +It was about as dull a business as the last hour of a comic opera. I +could hear buffaloes snorting and moving all round, and see the red- +beaked tic birds flying up off their backs, making a kind of hiss as +they did so, something like that of the English missel-thrush, but I +could not see a single buffalo. As for my old bull, I think he must +have slept the sleep of the just, for he never even stirred. + +"Just as I was making up my mind that something must be done to save +the situation, my attention was attracted by a curious grinding noise. +At first I thought that it must be a buffalo chewing the cud, but was +obliged to abandon the idea because the noise was too loud. I shifted +myself round and stared through the cracks in the bush, in the +direction whence the sound seemed to come, and once I thought that I +saw something gray moving about fifty yards off, but could not make +certain. Although the grinding noise still continued I could see +nothing more, so I gave up thinking about it, and once again turned my +attention to the buffalo. Presently, however, something happened. +Suddenly from about forty yards away there came a tremendous snorting +sound, more like that made by an engine getting a heavy train under +weigh than anything else in the world. + +"'By Jove,' I thought, turning round in the direction from which the +grinding sound had come, 'that must be a rhinoceros, and he has got +our wind.' For, as you fellows know, there is no mistaking the sound +made by a rhinoceros when he gets wind of you. + +"Another second, and I heard a most tremendous crashing noise. Before +I could think what to do, before I could even get up, the bush behind +me seemed to burst asunder, and there appeared not eight yards from +us, the great horn and wicked twinkling eye of a charging rhinoceros. +He had winded us or my pipe, I do not know which, and, after the +fashion of these brutes, had charged up the scent. I could not rise, I +could not even get the gun up, I had no time. All that I was able to +do was to roll over as far out of the monster's path as the bush would +allow. Another second and he was over me, his great bulk towering +above me like a mountain, and, upon my word, I could not get his smell +out of my nostrils for a week. Circumstances impressed it on my +memory, at least I suppose so. His hot breath blew upon my face, one +of his front feet just missed my head, and his hind one actually trod +upon the loose part of my trousers and pinched a little bit of my +skin. I saw him pass over me lying as I was upon my back, and next +second I saw something else. My men were a little behind me, and +therefore straight in the path of the rhinoceros. One of them flung +himself backwards into the bush, and thus avoided him. The second with +a wild yell sprung to his feet, and bounded like an india-rubber ball +right into the aloe bush, landing well among the spikes. But the +third, it was my friend Gobo, could not by any means get away. He +managed to gain his feet, and that was all. The rhinoceros was +charging with his head low; his horn passed between Gobo's legs, and +feeling something on his nose, he jerked it up. Away went Gobo, high +into the air. He turned a complete somersault at the apex of the +curve, and as he did so, I caught sight of his face. It was gray with +terror, and his mouth was wide open. Down he came, right on to the +great brute's back, and that broke his fall. Luckily for him the +rhinoceros never turned, but crashed straight through the aloe bush, +only missing the man who had jumped into it by about a yard. + +"Then followed a complication. The sleeping buffalo on the further +side of the bush, hearing the noise, sprang to his feet, and for a +second, not knowing what to do, stood still. At that instant the huge +rhinoceros blundered right on to him, and getting his horn beneath his +stomach gave him such a fearful dig that the buffalo was turned over +on to his back, while his assailant went a most amazing cropper over +his carcase. In another moment, however, the rhinoceros was up, and +wheeling round to the left, crashed through the bush down-hill and +towards the open country. + +"Instantly the whole place became alive with alarming sounds. In every +direction troops of snorting buffaloes charged through the forest, +wild with fright, while the injured bull on the further side of the +bush began to bellow like a mad thing. I lay quite still for a moment, +devoutly praying that none of the flying buffaloes would come my way. +Then when the danger lessened I got on to my feet, shook myself, and +looked round. One of my boys, he who had thrown himself backward into +the bush, was already half way up a tree--if heaven had been at the +top of it he could not have climbed quicker. Gobo was lying close to +me, groaning vigorously, but, as I suspected, quite unhurt; while from +the aloe bush into which No. 3 had bounded like a tennis ball, issued +a succession of the most piercing yells. + +"I looked, and saw that this unfortunate fellow was in a very tight +place. A great spike of aloe had run through the back of his skin +waist-belt, though without piercing his flesh, in such a fashion that +it was impossible for him to move, while within six feet of him the +injured buffalo bull, thinking, no doubt, that he was the aggressor, +bellowed and ramped to get at him, tearing the thick aloes with his +great horns. That no time was to be lost, if I wished to save the +man's life, was very clear. So seizing my eight-bore, which was +fortunately uninjured, I took a pace to the left, for the rhinoceros +had enlarged the hole in the bush, and aimed at the point of the +buffalo's shoulder, since on account of my position I could not get a +fair side shot for the heart. As I did so I saw that the rhinoceros +had given the bull a tremendous wound in the stomach, and that the +shock of the encounter had put his left hind-leg out of joint at the +hip. I fired, and the bullet striking the shoulder broke it, and +knocked the buffalo down. I knew that he could not get up any more, +because he was now injured fore and aft, so notwithstanding his +terrific bellows I scrambled round to where he was. There he lay +glaring furiously and tearing up the soil with his horns. Stepping up +to within two yards of him I aimed at the vertebra of his neck and +fired. The bullet struck true, and with a thud he dropped his head +upon the ground, groaned, and died. + +"This little matter having been attended to with the assistance of +Gobo, who had now found his feet, I went on to extricate our +unfortunate companion from the aloe bush. This we found a thorny task, +but at last he was dragged forth uninjured, though in a very pious and +prayerful frame of mind. His 'spirit had certainly looked that way,' +he said, or he would now have been dead. As I never like to interfere +with true piety, I did not venture to suggest that his spirit had +deigned to make use of my eight-bore in his interest. + +"Having despatched this boy back to the camp to tell the bearers to +come and cut the buffalo up, I bethought me that I owed that +rhinoceros a grudge which I should love to repay. So without saying a +word of what was in my mind to Gobo, who was now more than ever +convinced that Fate walked about loose in Wambe's country, I just +followed on the brute's spoor. He had crashed through the bush till he +reached the little glade. Then moderating his pace somewhat, he had +followed the glade down its entire length, and once more turned to the +right through the forest, shaping his course for the open land that +lies between the edge of the bush and the river. Having followed him +for a mile or so further, I found myself quite on the open. I took out +my glasses and searched the plain. About a mile ahead was something +brown--as I thought, the rhinoceros. I advanced another quarter of a +mile, and looked once more --it was not the rhinoceros, but a big ant- +heap. This was puzzling, but I did not like to give it up, because I +knew from his spoor that he must be somewhere ahead. But as the wind +was blowing straight from me towards the line that he had followed, +and as a rhinoceros can smell you for about a mile, it would not, I +felt, be safe to follow his trail any further; so I made a dtour of a +mile and more, till I was nearly opposite the ant-heap, and then once +more searched the plain. It was no good, I could see nothing of him, +and was about to give it up and start after some oryx I saw on the +skyline, when suddenly at a distance of about three hundred yards from +the ant-heap, and on its further side, I saw my rhino stand up in a +patch of grass. + +"'Heavens!' I thought to myself, 'he's off again;' but no, after +standing staring for a minute or two he once more lay down. + +"Now I found myself in a quandary. As you know, a rhinoceros is a very +short-sighted brute, indeed his sight is as bad as his scent is good. +Of this fact he is perfectly aware, but he always makes the most of +his natural gifts. For instance, when he lies down he invariably does +so with his head down wind. Thus, if any enemy crosses his wind he +will still be able to escape, or attack him; and if, on the other +hand, the danger approaches up wind he will at least have a chance of +seeing it. Otherwise, by walking delicately, one might actually kick +him up like a partridge, if only the advance was made up wind. + +"Well, the point was, how on earth should I get within shot of this +rhinoceros? After much deliberation I determined to try a side +approach, thinking that in this way I might get a shoulder shot. +Accordingly we started in a crouching attitude, I first, Gobo holding +on to my coat tails, and the other boy on to Gobo's moocha. I always +adopt this plan when stalking big game, for if you follow any other +system the bearers will get out of line. We arrived within three +hundred yards safely enough, and then the real difficulties began. The +grass had been so closely eaten off by game that there was scarcely +any cover. Consequently it was necessary to go on to our hands and +knees, which in my case involved laying down the eight-bore at every +step and then lifting it up again. However, I wriggled along somehow, +and if it had not been for Gobo and his friend no doubt everything +would have gone well. But as you have, I dare say, observed, a native +out stalking is always of that mind which is supposed to actuate an +ostrich--so long as his head is hidden he seems to think that nothing +else can be seen. So it was in this instance, Gobo and the other boy +crept along on their hands and toes with their heads well down, but, +though unfortunately I did not notice it till too late, bearing the +fundamental portions of their frames high in the air. Now all animals +are quite as suspicious of this end of mankind as they are of his +face, and of that fact I soon had a proof. Just when we had got within +about two hundred yards, and I was congratulating myself that I had +not had this long crawl with the sun beating on the back of my neck +like a furnace for nothing, I heard the hissing note of the rhinoceros +birds, and up flew four or five of them from the brute's back, where +they had been comfortably employed in catching tics. Now this +performance on the part of the birds is to a rhinoceros what the word +'cave' is to a schoolboy--it puts him on the /qui vive/ at once. +Before the birds were well in the air I saw the grass stir. + +"'Down you go,' I whispered to the boys, and as I did so the +rhinoceros got up and glared suspiciously around. But he could see +nothing, indeed if we had been standing up I doubt if he would have +seen us at that distance; so he merely gave two or three sniffs and +then lay down, his head still down wind, the birds once more settling +on his back. + +"But it was clear to me that he was sleeping with one eye open, being +generally in a suspicious and unchristian frame of mind, and that it +was useless to proceed further on this stalk, so we quietly withdrew +to consider the position and study the ground. The results were not +satisfactory. There was absolutely no cover about except the ant-heap, +which was some three hundred yards from the rhinoceros upon his up- +wind side. I knew that if I tried to stalk him in front I should fail, +and so I should if I attempted to do so from the further side--he or +the birds would see me; so I came to a conclusion: I would go to the +ant-heap, which would give him my wind, and instead of stalking him I +would let him stalk me. It was a bold step, and one which I should +never advise a hunter to take, but somehow I felt as though rhino and +I must play the hand out. + +"I explained my intentions to the men, who both held up their arms in +horror. Their fears for my safety were a little mitigated, however, +when I told them that I did not expect them to come with me. + +"Gobo breathed a prayer that I might not meet Fate walking about, and +the other one sincerely trusted that my spirit might look my way when +the rhinoceros charged, and then they both departed to a place of +safety. + +"Taking my eight-bore, and half-a-dozen spare cartridges in my pocket, +I made a dtour, and reaching the ant-heap in safety lay down. For a +moment the wind had dropped, but presently a gentle puff of air passed +over me, and blew on towards the rhinoceros. By the way, I wonder what +it is that smells so strong about a man? Is it his body or his breath? +I have never been able to make out, but I saw it stated the other day, +that in the duck decoys the man who is working the ducks holds a +little piece of burning turf before his mouth, and that if he does +this they cannot smell him, which looks as though it were the breath. +Well, whatever it was about me that attracted his attention, the +rhinoceros soon smelt me, for within half a minute after the puff of +wind had passed me he was on his legs, and turning round to get his +head up wind. There he stood for a few seconds and sniffed, and then +he began to move, first of all at a trot, then, as the scent grew +stronger, at a furious gallop. On he came, snorting like a runaway +engine, with his tail stuck straight up in the air; if he had seen me +lie down there he could not have made a better line. It was rather +nervous work, I can tell you, lying there waiting for his onslaught, +for he looked like a mountain of flesh. I determined, however, not to +fire till I could plainly see his eye, for I think that rule always +gives one the right distance for big game; so I rested my rifle on the +ant-heap and waited for him, kneeling. At last, when he was about +forty yards away, I saw that the time had come, and aiming straight +for the middle of the chest I pulled. + +"/Thud/ went the heavy bullet, and with a tremendous snort over rolled +the rhinoceros beneath its shock, just like a shot rabbit. But if I +had thought that he was done for I was mistaken, for in another second +he was up again, and coming at me as hard as ever, only with his head +held low. I waited till he was within ten yards, in the hope that he +would expose his chest, but he would do nothing of the sort; so I just +had to fire at his head with the left barrel, and take my chance. +Well, as luck would have it, of course the animal put its horn in the +way of the bullet, which cut clean through it about three inches above +the root and then glanced off into space. + +"After that things got rather serious. My gun was empty and the +rhinoceros was rapidly arriving, so rapidly indeed that I came to the +conclusion that I had better make way for him. Accordingly I jumped to +my feet and ran to the right as hard as I could go. As I did so he +arrived full tilt, knocked my friendly ant-heap flat, and for the +third time that day went a most magnificent cropper. This gave me a +few seconds' start, and I ran down wind--my word, I did run! +Unfortunately, however, my modest retreat was observed, and the +rhinoceros, as soon as he had found his legs again, set to work to run +after me. Now no man on earth can run so fast as an irritated +rhinoceros can gallop, and I knew that he must soon catch me up. But +having some slight experience of this sort of thing, luckily for +myself, I kept my head, and as I fled I managed to open my rifle, get +the old cartridges out, and put in two fresh ones. To do this I was +obliged to steady my pace a little, and by the time that I had snapped +the rifle to I heard the beast snorting and thundering away within a +few paces of my back. I stopped, and as I did so rapidly cocked the +rifle and slued round upon my heel. By this time the brute was within +six or seven yards of me, but luckily his head was up. I lifted the +rifle and fired at him. It was a snap shot, but the bullet struck him +in the chest within three inches of the first, and found its way into +his lungs. It did not stop him, however, so all I could do was to +bound to one side, which I did with surprising activity, and as he +brushed past me to fire the other barrel into his side. That did for +him. The ball passed in behind the shoulder and right through his +heart. He fell over on to his side, gave one more awful squeal--a +dozen pigs could not have made such a noise--and promptly died, +keeping his wicked eyes wide open all the time. + +"As for me, I blew my nose, and going up to the rhinoceros sat on his +head, and reflected that I had done a capital morning's shooting. + + + +III + +THE FIRST ROUND + +"After this, as it was now midday, and I had killed enough meat, we +marched back triumphantly to camp, where I proceeded to concoct a stew +of buffalo beef and compressed vegetables. When this was ready we ate +the stew, and then I took a nap. About four o'clock, however, Gobo +woke me up, and told me that the head man of one of Wambe's kraals had +arrived to see me. I ordered him to be brought up, and presently he +came, a little, wizened, talkative old man, with a waistcloth round +his middle, and a greasy, frayed kaross made of the skins of rock +rabbits over his shoulders. + +"I told him to sit down, and then abused him roundly. 'What did he +mean,' I asked, 'by disturbing me in this rude way? How did he dare to +cause a person of my quality and evident importance to be awakened in +order to interview his entirely contemptible self?' + +"I spoke thus because I knew that it would produce an impression on +him. Nobody, except a really great man, he would argue, would dare to +speak to him in that fashion. Most savages are desperate bullies at +heart, and look on insolence as a sign of power. + +"The old man instantly collapsed. He was utterly overcome, he said; +his heart was split in two, and well realized the extent of his +misbehaviour. But the occasion was very urgent. He heard that a mighty +hunter was in the neighbourhood, a beautiful white man, how beautiful +he could not have imagined had he not seen (this to me!), and he came +to beg his assistance. The truth was, that three bull elephants such +as no man ever saw had for years been the terror of their kraal, which +was but a small place--a cattle kraal of the great chief Wambe's, +where they lived to keep the cattle. And now of late these elephants +had done them much damage; but last night they had destroyed a whole +patch of mealie land, and he feared that if they came back they would +all starve next season for want of food. Would the mighty white man +then be pleased to come and kill the elephants? It would be easy for +him to do--oh, most easy! It was only necessary that he should hide +himself in a tree, for there was a full moon, and then when the +elephants appeared he would speak to them with the gun, and they would +fall down dead, and there would be an end of their troubling. + +"Of course I hummed and hawed, and made a great favour of consenting +to his proposal, though really I was delighted to have such a chance. +One of the conditions that I made was that a messenger should at once +be despatched to Wambe, whose kraal was two days' journey from where I +was, telling him that I proposed to come and pay my respects to him in +a few days, and to ask his formal permission to shoot in his country. +Also I intimated that I was prepared to present him with 'hongo,' that +is, blackmail, and that I hoped to do a little trade with him in +ivory, of which I heard he had a great quantity. + +"This message the old gentleman promised to despatch at once, though +there was something about his manner which showed me that he was +doubtful as to how it would be received. After that we struck our camp +and moved on to the kraal, which we reached about an hour before +sunset. This kraal was a collection of huts surrounded by a slight +thorn-fence, perhaps there were ten of them in all. It was situated in +a kloof of the mountain down which a rivulet flowed. The kloof was +densely wooded, but for some distance above the kraal it was free from +bush, and here on the rich deep ground brought down by the rivulet +were the cultivated lands, in extent somewhere about twenty or twenty- +five acres. On the kraal side of these lands stood a single hut, that +served for a mealie store, which at the moment was used as a dwelling- +place by an old woman, the first wife of our friend the head man. + +"It appears that this lady, having had some difference of opinion with +her husband about the extent of authority allowed to a younger and +more amiable wife, had refused to dwell in the kraal any more, and, by +way of marking her displeasure, had taken up her abode among the +mealies. As the issue will show, she was, it happened, cutting off her +nose to spite her face. + +"Close by this hut grew a large baobab tree. A glance at the mealie +grounds showed me that the old head man had not exaggerated the +mischief done by the elephants to his crops, which were now getting +ripe. Nearly half of the entire patch was destroyed. The great brutes +had eaten all they could, and the rest they had trampled down. I went +up to their spoor and started back in amazement--never had I seen such +a spoor before. It was simply enormous, more especially that of one +old bull, that carried, so said the natives, but a single tusk. One +might have used any of the footprints for a hip-bath. + +"Having taken stock of the position, my next step was to make +arrangements for the fray. The three bulls, according to the natives, +had been spoored into the dense patch of bush above the kloof. Now it +seemed to me very probable that they would return to-night to feed on +the remainder of the ripening mealies. If so, there was a bright moon, +and it struck me that by the exercise of a little ingenuity I might +bag one or more of them without exposing myself to any risk, which, +having the highest respect for the aggressive powers of bull +elephants, was a great consideration to me. + +"This then was my plan. To the right of the huts as you look up the +kloof, and commanding the mealie lands, stands the baobab tree that I +have mentioned. Into that baobab tree I made up my mind to go. Then if +the elephants appeared I should get a shot at them. I announced my +intentions to the head man of the kraal, who was delighted. 'Now,' he +said, 'his people might sleep in peace, for while the mighty white +hunter sat aloft like a spirit watching over the welfare of his kraal +what was there to fear?' + +"I told him that he was an ungrateful brute to think of sleeping in +peace while, perched like a wounded vulture on a tree, I watched for +his welfare in wakeful sorrow; and once more he collapsed, and owned +that my words were 'sharp but just.' + +"However, as I have said, confidence was completely restored; and that +evening everybody in the kraal, including the superannuated victim of +jealousy in the little hut where the mealie cobs were stored, went to +bed with a sense of sweet security from elephants and all other +animals that prowl by night. + +"For my part, I pitched my camp below the kraal; and then, having +procured a beam of wood from the head man--rather a rotten one, by the +way--I set it across two boughs that ran out laterally from the baobab +tree, at a height of about twenty-five feet from the ground, in such +fashion that I and another man could sit upon it with our legs hanging +down, and rest our backs against the bole of the tree. This done I +went back to the camp and ate my supper. About nine o'clock, half-an- +hour before the moon-rise, I summoned Gobo, who, thinking that he had +seen about enough of the delights of big game hunting for that day, +did not altogether relish the job; and, despite his remonstrances, +gave him my eight-bore to carry, I having the .570-express. Then we +set out for the tree. It was very dark, but we found it without +difficulty, though climbing it was a more complicated matter. However, +at last we got up and sat down, like two little boys on a form that is +too high for them, and waited. I did not dare to smoke, because I +remembered the rhinoceros, and feared that the elephants might wind +the tobacco if they should come my way, and this made the business +more wearisome, so I fell to thinking and wondering at the +completeness of the silence. + +"At last the moon came up, and with it a moaning wind, at the breath +of which the silence began to whisper mysteriously. Lonely enough in +the newborn light looked the wide expanse of mountain, plain, and +forest, more like some vision of a dream, some reflection from a fair +world of peace beyond our ken, than the mere face of garish earth made +soft with sleep. Indeed, had it not been for the fact that I was +beginning to find the log on which I sat very hard, I should have +grown quite sentimental over the beautiful sight; but I will defy +anybody to become sentimental when seated in the damp, on a very rough +beam of wood, and half-way up a tree. So I merely made a mental note +that it was a particularly lovely night, and turned my attention to +the prospect of elephants. But no elephants came, and after waiting +for another hour or so, I think that what between weariness and +disgust, I must have dropped into a gentle doze. Presently I awoke +with a start. Gobo, who was perched close to me, but as far off as the +beam would allow--for neither white man nor black like the aroma which +each vows is the peculiar and disagreeable property of the other--was +faintly, very faintly clicking his forefinger against his thumb. I +knew by this signal, a very favourite one among native hunters and +gun-bearers, that he must have seen or heard something. I looked at +his face, and saw that he was staring excitedly towards the dim edge +of the bush beyond the deep green line of mealies. I stared too, and +listened. Presently I heard a soft large sound as though a giant were +gently stretching out his hands and pressing back the ears of standing +corn. Then came a pause, and then, out into the open majestically +stalked the largest elephant I ever saw or ever shall see. Heavens! +what a monster he was; and how the moonlight gleamed upon his one +splendid tusk--for the other was missing--as he stood among the +mealies gently moving his enormous ears to and fro, and testing the +wind with his trunk. While I was still marvelling at his girth, and +speculating upon the weight of that huge tusk, which I swore should be +my tusk before very long, out stepped a second bull and stood beside +him. He was not quite so tall, but he seemed to me to be almost +thicker-set than the first; and even in that light I could see that +both his tusks were perfect. Another pause, and the third emerged. He +was shorter than either of the others, but higher in the shoulder than +No. 2; and when I tell you, as I afterwards learnt from actual +measurement, that the smallest of these mighty bulls measured twelve +feet one and a half inches at the shoulder, it will give you some idea +of their size. The three formed into line and stood still for a +minute, the one-tusked bull gently caressing the elephant on the left +with his trunk. + +"Then they began to feed, walking forward and slightly to the right as +they gathered great bunches of the sweet mealies and thrust them into +their mouths. All this time they were more than a hundred and twenty +yards away from me (this I knew, because I had paced the distances +from the tree to various points), much too far to allow of my +attempting a shot at them in that uncertain light. They fed in a +semicircle, gradually drawing round towards the hut near my tree, in +which the corn was stored and the old woman slept. + +"This went on for between an hour and an hour and a half, till, what +between excitement and hope, that maketh the heart sick, I grew so +weary that I was actually contemplating a descent from the tree and a +moonlight stalk. Such an act in ground so open would have been that of +a stark staring lunatic, and that I should even have been +contemplating it will show you the condition of my mind. But +everything comes to him who knows how to wait, and sometimes too to +him who doesn't, and so at last those elephants, or rather one of +them, came to me. + +"After they had fed their fill, which was a very large one, the noble +three stood once more in line some seventy yards to the left of the +hut, and on the edge of the cultivated lands, or in all about eighty- +five yards from where I was perched. Then at last the one with a +single tusk made a peculiar rattling noise in his trunk, just as +though he were blowing his nose, and without more ado began to walk +deliberately toward the hut where the old woman slept. I made my rifle +ready and glanced up at the moon, only to discover that a new +complication was looming in the immediate future. I have said that a +wind rose with the moon. Well, the wind brought rain-clouds along its +track. Several light ones had already lessened the light for a little +while, though without obscuring it, and now two more were coming up +rapidly, both of them very black and dense. The first cloud was small +and long, and the one behind big and broad. I remember noticing that +the pair of them bore a most comical resemblance to a dray drawn by a +very long raw-boned horse. As luck would have it, just as the elephant +arrived within twenty-five yards or so of me, the head of the horse- +cloud floated over the face of the moon, rendering it impossible for +me to fire. In the faint twilight which remained, however, I could +just make out the gray mass of the great brute still advancing towards +the hut. Then the light went altogether and I had to trust to my ears. +I heard him fumbling with his trunk, apparently at the roof of the +hut; next came a sound as of straw being drawn out, and then for a +little while there was complete silence. + +"The cloud began to pass; I could see the outline of the elephant; he +was standing with his head quite over the top of the hut. But I could +not see his trunk, and no wonder, for it was /inside the hut/. He had +thrust it through the roof, and, attracted no doubt by the smell of +the mealies, was groping about with it inside. It was growing light +now, and I got my rifle ready, when suddenly there was a most awful +yell, and I saw the trunk reappear, and in its mighty fold the old +woman who had been sleeping in the hut. Out she came through the hole +like a periwinkle on the point of a pin, still wrapped up in her +blanket, and with her skinny arms and legs stretched to the four +points of the compass, and as she did so, gave that most alarming +screech. I really don't know who was the most frightened, she, or I, +or the elephant. At any rate the last was considerably startled; he +had been fishing for mealies--the old woman was a mere accident, and +one that greatly discomposed his nerves. He gave a sort of trumpet, +and threw her away from him right into the crown of a low mimosa tree, +where she stuck shrieking like a metropolitan engine. The old bull +lifted his tail, and flapping his great ears prepared for flight. I +put up my eight-bore, and aiming hastily at the point of his shoulder +(for he was broadside on), I fired. The report rang out like thunder, +making a thousand echoes in the quiet hills. I saw him go down all of +a heap as though he were stone dead. Then, alas! whether it was the +kick of the heavy rifle, or the excited bump of that idiot Gobo, or +both together, or merely an unhappy coincidence, I do not know, but +the rotten beam broke and I went down too, landing flat at the foot of +the tree upon a certain humble portion of the human frame. The shock +was so severe that I felt as though all my teeth were flying through +the roof of my mouth, but although I sat slightly stunned for a few +seconds, luckily for me I fell light, and was not in any way injured. + +"Meanwhile the elephant began to scream with fear and fury, and, +attracted by his cries, the other two charged up. I felt for my rifle; +it was not there. Then I remembered that I had rested it on a fork of +the bough in order to fire, and doubtless there it remained. My +position was now very unpleasant. I did not dare to try and climb the +tree again, which, shaken as I was, would have been a task of some +difficulty, because the elephants would certainly see me, and Gobo, +who had clung to a bough, was still aloft with the other rifle. I +could not run because there was no shelter near. Under these +circumstances I did the only thing feasible, clambered round the trunk +as softly as possible, and keeping one eye on the elephants, whispered +to Gobo to bring down the rifle, and awaited the development of the +situation. I knew that if the elephants did not see me--which, +luckily, they were too enraged to do--they would not smell me, for I +was up-wind. Gobo, however, either did not, or, preferring the safety +of the tree, would not hear me. He said the former, but I believed the +latter, for I knew that he was not enough of a sportsman to really +enjoy shooting elephants by moonlight in the open. So there I was +behind my tree, dismayed, unarmed, but highly interested, for I was +witnessing a remarkable performance. + +"When the two other bulls arrived the wounded elephant on the ground +ceased to scream, but began to make a low moaning noise, and to gently +touch the wound near his shoulder, from which the blood was literally +spouting. The other two seemed to understand; at any rate, they did +this. Kneeling down on either side, they placed their trunks and tusks +underneath him, and, aided by his own efforts, with one great lift got +him on to his feet. Then leaning against him on either side to support +him, they marched off at a walk in the direction of the village.[*] It +was a pitiful sight, and even then it made me feel a brute. + +[*] The Editor would have been inclined to think that in relating this + incident Mr. Quatermain was making himself interesting at the + expense of the exact truth, did it not happen that a similar + incident has come within his knowledge.--Editor. + +"Presently, from a walk, as the wounded elephant gathered himself +together a little, they broke into a trot, and after that I could +follow them no longer with my eyes, for the second black cloud came up +over the moon and put her out, as an extinguisher puts out a dip. I +say with my eyes, but my ears gave me a very fair notion of what was +going on. When the cloud came up the three terrified animals were +heading directly for the kraal, probably because the way was open and +the path easy. I fancy that they grew confused in the darkness, for +when they came to the kraal fence they did not turn aside, but crashed +straight through it. Then there were 'times,' as the Irish servant- +girl says in the American book. Having taken the fence, they thought +that they might as well take the kraal also, so they just ran over it. +One hive-shaped hut was turned quite over on to its top, and when I +arrived upon the scene the people who had been sleeping there were +bumbling about inside like bees disturbed at night, while two more +were crushed flat, and a third had all its side torn out. Oddly +enough, however, nobody was hurt, though several people had a narrow +escape of being trodden to death. + +"On arrival I found the old head man in a state painfully like that +favoured by Greek art, dancing about in front of his ruined abodes as +vigorously as though he had just been stung by a scorpion. + +"I asked him what ailed him, and he burst out into a flood of abuse. +He called me a Wizard, a Sham, a Fraud, a Bringer of bad luck! I had +promised to kill the elephants, and I had so arranged things that the +elephants had nearly killed him, etc. + +"This, still smarting, or rather aching, as I was from that most +terrific bump, was too much for my feelings, so I just made a rush at +my friend, and getting him by the ear, I banged his head against the +doorway of his own hut, which was all that was left of it. + +"'You wicked old scoundrel,' I said, 'you dare to complain about your +own trifling inconveniences, when you gave me a rotten beam to sit on, +and thereby delivered me to the fury of the elephant' (/bump! bump! +bump!/), 'when your own wife' (/bump!/) 'has just been dragged out of +her hut' (/bump!/) 'like a snail from its shell, and thrown by the +Earth-shaker into a tree' (/bump! bump!/). + +"'Mercy, my father, mercy!' gasped the old fellow. 'Truly I have done +amiss--my heart tells me so.' + +"'I should hope it did, you old villain' (/bump!/). + +"'Mercy, great white man! I thought the log was sound. But what says +the unequalled chief--is the old woman, my wife, indeed dead? Ah, if +she is dead all may yet prove to have been for the very best;' and he +clasped his hands and looked up piously to heaven, in which the moon +was once more shining brightly. + +"I let go his ear and burst out laughing, the whole scene and his +devout aspirations for the decease of the partner of his joys, or +rather woes, were so intensely ridiculous. + +"'No, you old iniquity,' I answered; 'I left her in the top of a +thorn-tree, screaming like a thousand bluejays. The elephant put her +there.' + +"'Alas! alas!' he said, 'surely the back of the ox is shaped to the +burden. Doubtless, my father, she will come down when she is tired;' +and without troubling himself further about the matter, he began to +blow at the smouldering embers of the fire. + +"And, as a matter of fact, she did appear a few minutes later, +considerably scratched and startled, but none the worse. + +"After that I made my way to my little camp, which, fortunately, the +elephants had not walked over, and wrapping myself up in a blanket, +was soon fast asleep. + +"And so ended my first round with those three elephants. + + + +IV + +THE LAST ROUND + +"On the morrow I woke up full of painful recollections, and not +without a certain feeling of gratitude to the Powers above that I was +there to wake up. Yesterday had been a tempestuous day; indeed, what +between buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephant, it had been very +tempestuous. Having realized this fact, I next bethought me of those +magnificent tusks, and instantly, early as it was, broke the tenth +commandment. I coveted my neighbours tusks, if an elephant could be +said to be my neighbour /de jure/, as certainly, so recently as the +previous night, he had been /de facto/--a much closer neighbour than I +cared for, indeed. Now when you covet your neighbour's goods, the best +thing, if not the most moral thing, to do is to enter his house as a +strong man armed, and take them. I was not a strong man, but having +recovered my eight-bore I was armed, and so was the other strong man-- +the elephant with the tusks. Consequently I prepared for a struggle to +the death. In other words, I summoned my faithful retainers, and told +them that I was now going to follow those elephants to the edge of the +world, if necessary. They showed a certain bashfulness about the +business, but they did not gainsay me, because they dared not. Ever +since I had prepared with all due solemnity to execute the rebellious +Gobo they had conceived a great respect for me. + +"So I went up to bid adieu to the old head man, whom I found +alternately contemplating the ruins of his kraal and, with the able +assistance of his last wife, thrashing the jealous lady who had slept +in the mealie hut, because she was, as he declared, the fount of all +his sorrows. + +"Leaving them to work a way through their domestic differences, I +levied a supply of vegetable food from the kraal in consideration of +services rendered, and left them with my blessing. I do not know how +they settled matters, because I have not seen them since. + +"Then I started on the spoor of the three bulls. For a couple of miles +or so below the kraal--as far, indeed, as the belt of swamp that +borders the river--the ground is at this spot rather stony, and +clothed with scattered bushes. Rain had fallen towards the daybreak, +and this fact, together with the nature of the soil, made spooring a +very difficult business. The wounded bull had indeed bled freely, but +the rain had washed the blood off the leaves and grass, and the ground +being so rough and hard did not take the footmarks so clearly as was +convenient. However, we got along, though slowly, partly by the spoor, +and partly by carefully lifting leaves and blades of grass, and +finding blood underneath them, for the blood gushing from a wounded +animal often falls upon their inner surfaces, and then, of course, +unless the rain is very heavy, it is not washed away. It took us +something over an hour and a half to reach the edge of the marsh, but +once there our task became much easier, for the soft soil showed +plentiful evidences of the great brutes' passage. Threading our way +through the swampy land, we came at last to a ford of the river, and +here we could see where the poor wounded animal had lain down in the +mud and water in the hope of easing himself of his pain, and could see +also how his two faithful companions had assisted him to rise again. +We crossed the ford, and took up the spoor on the further side, and +followed it into the marsh-like land beyond. No rain had fallen on +this side of the river, and the blood-marks were consequently much +more frequent. + +"All that day we followed the three bulls, now across open plains, and +now through patches of bush. They seemed to have travelled on almost +without stopping, and I noticed that as they went the wounded bull +recovered his strength a little. This I could see from his spoor, +which had become firmer, and also from the fact that the other two had +ceased to support him. At last evening closed in, and having travelled +some eighteen miles, we camped, thoroughly tired out. + +"Before dawn on the following day we were up, and the first break of +light found us once more on the spoor. About half-past five o'clock we +reached the place where the elephants had fed and slept. The two +unwounded bulls had taken their fill, as the condition of the +neighbouring bushes showed, but the wounded one had eaten nothing. He +had spent the night leaning against a good-sized tree, which his +weight had pushed out of the perpendicular. They had not long left +this place, and could not be very far ahead, especially as the wounded +bull was now again so stiff after his night's rest that for the first +few miles the other two had been obliged to support him. But elephants +go very quick, even when they seem to be travelling slowly, for shrub +and creepers that almost stop a man's progress are no hindrance to +them. The three had now turned to the left, and were travelling back +again in a semicircular line toward the mountains, probably with the +idea of working round to their old feeding grounds on the further side +of the river. + +"There was nothing for it but to follow their lead, and accordingly we +followed with industry. Through all that long hot day did we tramp, +passing quantities of every sort of game, and even coming across the +spoor of other elephants. But, in spite of my men's entreaties, I +would not turn aside after these. I would have those mighty tusks or +none. + +"By evening we were quite close to our game, probably within a quarter +of a mile, but the bush was dense, and we could see nothing of them, +so once more we must camp, thoroughly disgusted with our luck. That +night, just after the moon rose, while I was sitting smoking my pipe +with my back against a tree, I heard an elephant trumpet, as though +something had startled it, and not three hundred yards away. I was +very tired, but my curiosity overcame my weariness, so, without saying +a word to any of the men, all of whom were asleep, I took my eight- +bore and a few spare cartridges, and steered toward the sound. The +game path which we had been following all day ran straight on in the +direction from which the elephant had trumpeted. It was narrow, but +well trodden, and the light struck down upon it in a straight white +line. I crept along it cautiously for some two hundred yards, when it +opened suddenly into a most beautiful glade some hundred yards or more +in width, wherein tall grass grew and flat-topped trees stood singly. +With the caution born of long experience I watched for a few moments +before I entered the glade, and then I saw why the elephant had +trumpeted. There in the middle of the glade stood a large maned lion. +He stood quite still, making a soft purring noise, and waving his tail +to and fro. Presently the grass about forty yards on the hither side +of him gave a wide ripple, and a lioness sprang out of it like a +flash, and bounded noiselessly up to the lion. Reaching him, the great +cat halted suddenly, and rubbed her head against his shoulder. Then +they both began to purr loudly, so loudly that I believe that in the +stillness one might have heard them two hundred yards or more away. + +"After a time, while I was still hesitating what to do, either they +got a whiff of my wind, or they wearied of standing still, and +determined to start in search of game. At any rate, as though moved by +a common impulse, they bounded suddenly away, leap by leap, and +vanished in the depths of the forest to the left. I waited for a +little while longer to see if there were any more yellow skins about, +and seeing none, came to the conclusion that the lions must have +frightened the elephants away, and that I had taken my stroll for +nothing. But just as I was turning back I thought that I heard a bough +break upon the further side of the glade, and, rash as the act was, I +followed the sound. I crossed the glade as silently as my own shadow. +On its further side the path went on. Albeit with many fears, I went +on too. The jungle growth was so thick here that it almost met +overhead, leaving so small a passage for the light that I could +scarcely see to grope my way along. Presently, however, it widened, +and then opened into a second glade slightly smaller than the first, +and there, on the further side of it, about eighty yards from me, +stood the three enormous elephants. + +"They stood thus:--Immediately opposite and facing me was the wounded +one-tusked bull. He was leaning his bulk against a dead thorn-tree, +the only one in the place, and looked very sick indeed. Near him stood +the second bull as though keeping a watch over him. The third elephant +was a good deal nearer to me and broadside on. While I was still +staring at them, this elephant suddenly walked off and vanished down a +path in the bush to the right. + +"There are now two things to be done--either I could go back to the +camp and advance upon the elephants at dawn, or I could attack them at +once. The first was, of course, by far the wiser and safer course. To +engage one elephant by moonlight and single-handed is a sufficiently +rash proceeding; to tackle three was little short of lunacy. But, on +the other hand, I knew that they would be on the march again before +daylight, and there might come another day of weary trudging before I +could catch them up, or they might escape me altogether. + +"'No,' I thought to myself, 'faint heart never won fair tusk. I'll +risk it, and have a slap at them. But how?' I could not advance across +the open, for they would see me; clearly the only thing to do was to +creep round in the shadow of the bush and try to come upon them so. So +I started. Seven or eight minutes of careful stalking brought me to +the mouth of the path down which the third elephant had walked. The +other two were now about fifty yards from me, and the nature of the +wall of bush was such that I could not see how to get nearer to them +without being discovered. I hesitated, and peeped down the path which +the elephant had followed. About five yards in, it took a turn round a +shrub. I thought that I would just have a look behind it, and +advanced, expecting that I should be able to catch a sight of the +elephant's tail. As it happened, however, I met his trunk coming round +the corner. It is very disconcerting to see an elephant's trunk when +you expect to see his tail, and for a moment I stood paralyzed almost +under the vast brute's head, for he was not five yards from me. He too +halted, threw up his trunk and trumpeted preparatory to a charge. I +was in for it now, for I could not escape either to the right or left, +on account of the bush, and I did not dare turn my back. So I did the +only thing that I could do--raised the rifle and fired at the black +mass of his chest. It was too dark for me to pick a shot; I could only +brown him, as it were. + +"The shot rung out like thunder on the quiet air, and the elephant +answered it with a scream, then dropped his trunk and stood for a +second or two as still as though he had been cut in stone. I confess +that I lost my head; I ought to have fired my second barrel, but I did +not. Instead of doing so, I rapidly opened my rifle, pulled out the +old cartridge from the right barrel and replaced it. But before I +could snap the breech to, the bull was at me. I saw his great trunk +fly up like a brown beam, and I waited no longer. Turning, I fled for +dear life, and after me thundered the elephant. Right into the open +glade I ran, and then, thank Heaven, just as he was coming up with me +the bullet took effect on him. He had been shot right through the +heart, or lungs, and down he fell with a crash, stone dead. + +"But in escaping from Scylla I had run into the jaws of Charybdis. I +heard the elephant fall, and glanced round. Straight in front of me, +and not fifteen paces away, were the other two bulls. They were +staring about, and at that moment they caught sight of me. Then they +came, the pair of them--came like thunderbolts, and from different +angles. I had only time to snap my rifle to, lift it, and fire, almost +at haphazard, at the head of the nearest, the unwounded bull. + +"Now, as you know, in the case of the African elephant, whose skull is +convex, and not concave like that of the Indian, this is always a most +risky and very frequently a perfectly useless shot. The bullet loses +itself in the masses of bone, that is all. But there is one little +vital place, and should the bullet happen to strike there, it will +follow the channel of the nostrils--at least I suppose it is that of +the nostrils--and reach the brain. And this was what happened in the +present case--the ball struck the fatal spot in the region of the eye +and travelled to the brain. Down came the great bull all of a heap, +and rolled on to his side as dead as a stone. I swung round at that +instant to face the third, the monster bull with one tusk that I had +wounded two days before. He was already almost over me, and in the dim +moonlight seemed to tower above me like a house. I lifted the rifle +and pulled at his neck. It would not go off! Then, in a flash, as it +were, I remembered that it was on the half-cock. The lock of this +barrel was a little weak, and a few days before, in firing at a cow +eland, the left barrel had jarred off at the shock of the discharge of +the right, knocking me backwards with the recoil; so after that I had +kept it on the half-cock till I actually wanted to fire it. + +"I gave one desperate bound to the right, and, my lame leg +notwithstanding, I believe that few men could have made a better jump. +At any rate, it was none too soon, for as I jumped I felt the wind +made by the tremendous downward stroke of the monster's trunk. Then I +ran for it. + +"I ran like a buck, still keeping hold of my gun, however. My idea, so +far as I could be said to have any fixed idea, was to bolt down the +pathway up which I had come, like a rabbit down a burrow, trusting +that he would lose sight of me in the uncertain light. I sped across +the glade. Fortunately the bull, being wounded, could not go full +speed; but wounded or no, he could go quite as fast as I could. I was +unable to gain an inch, and away we went, with just about three feet +between our separate extremities. We were at the other side now, and a +glance served to show me that I had miscalculated and overshot the +opening. To reach it now was hopeless; I should have blundered +straight into the elephant. So I did the only thing I could do: I +swerved like a course hare, and started off round the edge of the +glade, seeking for some opening into which I could plunge. This gave +me a moment's start, for the bull could not turn as quickly as I +could, and I made the most of it. But no opening could I see; the bush +was like a wall. We were speeding round the edge of the glade, and the +elephant was coming up again. Now he was within about six feet, and +now, as he trumpeted or rather screamed, I could feel the fierce hot +blast of his breath strike upon my head. Heavens! how it frightened +me! + +"We were three parts round the glade now, and about fifty yards ahead +was the single large dead thorn-tree against which the bull had been +leaning. I spurted for it; it was my last chance of safety. But spurt +as I would, it seemed hours before I got there. Putting out my right +hand, I swung round the tree, thus bringing myself face to face with +the elephant. I had not time to lift the rifle to fire, I had barely +time to cock it, and run sideways and backward, when he was on to me. +Crash! he came, striking the tree full with his forehead. It snapped +like a carrot about forty inches from the ground. Fortunately I was +clear of the trunk, but one of the dead branches struck me on the +chest as it went down and swept me to the ground. I fell upon my back, +and the elephant blundered past me as I lay. More by instinct than +anything else I lifted the rifle with one hand and pulled the trigger. +It exploded, and, as I discovered afterwards, the bullet struck him in +the ribs. But the recoil of the heavy rifle held thus was very severe; +it bent my arm up, and sent the butt with a thud against the top of my +shoulder and the side of my neck, for the moment quite paralyzing me, +and causing the weapon to jump from my grasp. Meanwhile the bull was +rushing on. He travelled for some twenty paces, and then suddenly he +stopped. Faintly I reflected that he was coming back to finish me, but +even the prospect of imminent and dreadful death could not rouse me +into action. I was utterly spent; I could not move. + +"Idly, almost indifferently, I watched his movements. For a moment he +stood still, next he trumpeted till the welkin rang, and then very +slowly, and with great dignity, he knelt down. At this point I swooned +away. + +"When I came to myself again I saw from the moon that I must have been +insensible for quite two hours. I was drenched with dew, and shivering +all over. At first I could not think where I was, when, on lifting my +head, I saw the outline of the one-tusked bull still kneeling some +five-and-twenty paces from me. Then I remembered. Slowly I raised +myself, and was instantly taken with a violent sickness, the result of +over-exertion, after which I very nearly fainted a second time. +Presently I grew better, and considered the position. Two of the +elephants were, as I knew, dead; but how about No. 3? There he knelt +in majesty in the lonely moonlight. The question was, was he resting, +or dead? I rose on my hands and knees, loaded my rifle, and painfully +crept a few paces nearer. I could see his eye now, for the moonlight +fell full upon it--it was open, and rather prominent. I crouched and +watched; the eyelid did not move, nor did the great brown body, or the +trunk, or the ear, or the tail--nothing moved. Then I knew that he +must be dead. + +"I crept up to him, still keeping the rifle well forward, and gave him +a thump, reflecting as I did so how very near I had been to being +thumped instead of thumping. He never stirred; certainly he was dead, +though to this day I do not know if it was my random shot that killed +him, or if he died from concussion of the brain consequent upon the +tremendous shock of his contact with the tree. Anyhow, there he was. +Cold and beautiful he lay, or rather knelt, as the poet nearly puts +it. Indeed, I do not think that I have ever seen a sight more imposing +in its way than that of the mighty beast crouched in majestic death, +and shone upon by the lonely moon. + +"While I stood admiring the scene, and heartily congratulating myself +upon my escape, once more I began to feel sick. Accordingly, without +waiting to examine the other two bulls, I staggered back to the camp, +which in due course I reached in safety. Everybody in it was asleep. I +did not wake them, but having swallowed a mouthful of brandy I threw +off my coat and shoes, rolled myself up in a blanket, and was soon +fast asleep. + +"When I woke it was already light, and at first I thought that, like +Joseph, I had dreamed a dream. At that moment, however, I turned my +head, and quickly knew that it was no dream, for my neck and face were +so stiff from the blow of the butt-end of the rifle that it was agony +to move them. I collapsed for a minute or two. Gobo and another man, +wrapped up like a couple of monks in their blankets, thinking that I +was still asleep, were crouched over a little fire they had made, for +the morning was damp and chilly, and holding sweet converse. + +"Gobo said that he was getting tired of running after elephants which +they never caught. Macumazahn (that is, myself) was without doubt a +man of parts, and of some skill in shooting, but also he was a fool. +None but a fool would run so fast and far after elephants which it was +impossible to catch, when they kept cutting the spoor of fresh ones. +He certainly was a fool, but he must not be allowed to continue in his +folly; and he, Gobo, had determined to put a stop to it. He should +refuse to accompany him any further on so mad a hunt. + +"'Yes,' the other answered, 'the poor man certainly was sick in his +head, and it was quite time that they checked his folly while they +still had a patch of skin left upon their feet. Moreover, he for his +part certainly did not like this country of Wambe's, which really was +full of ghosts. Only the last night he had heard the spooks at work-- +they were out shooting, at least it sounded as though they were. It +was very queer, but perhaps their lunatic of a master----' + +"'Gobo, you scoundrel!' I shouted out at this juncture, sitting bolt +upright on the blankets, 'stop idling there and make me some coffee.' + +"Up sprang Gobo and his friend, and in half a moment were respectfully +skipping about in a manner that contrasted well with the lordly +contempt of their previous conversation. But all the time they were in +earnest in what they said about hunting the elephants any further, for +before I had finished my coffee they came to me in a body, and said +that if I wanted to follow those elephants I must follow them myself, +for they would not go. + +"I argued with them, and affected to be much put out. The elephants +were close at hand, I said; I was sure of it; I had heard them trumpet +in the night. + +"'Yes,' answered the men mysteriously, 'they too had heard things in +the night, things not nice to hear; they had heard the spooks out +shooting, and no longer would they remain in a country so vilely +haunted.' + +"'It was nonsense,' I replied. 'If ghosts went out shooting, surely +they would use air-guns and not black powder, and one would not hear +an air-gun. Well, if they were cowards, and would not come, of course +I could not force them to, but I would make a bargain with them. They +should follow those elephants for one half-hour more, then if we +failed to come upon them I would abandon the pursuit, and we would go +straight to Wambe, chief of the Matuku, and give him hongo.' + +"To this compromise the men agreed readily. Accordingly about half-an- +hour later we struck our camp and started, and notwithstanding my +aches and bruises, I do not think that I ever felt in better spirits +in my life. It is something to wake up in the morning and remember +that in the dead of the night, single-handed, one has given battle to +and overthrown three of the largest elephants in Africa, slaying them +with three bullets. Such a feat to my knowledge had never been done +before, and on that particular morning I felt a very 'tall man of my +hands' indeed. The only thing I feared was, that should I ever come to +tell the story nobody would believe it, for when a strange tale is +told by a hunter, people are apt to think it is necessarily a lie, +instead of being only probably so.[*] + +[*] For the satisfaction of any who may be so disbelieving as to take + this view of Mr. Quatermain's story, the Editor may state that a + gentleman with whom he is acquainted, and whose veracity he + believes to be beyond doubt, not long ago described to him how he + chanced to kill /four/ African elephants with four consecutive + bullets. Two of these elephants were charging him simultaneously, + and out of the four three were killed with the head shot, a very + uncommon thing in the case of the African elephant.--Editor. + +"Well, we passed on till, having crossed the first glade where I had +seen the lions, we reached the neck of bush that separated it from the +second glade, where the dead elephants were. And here I began to take +elaborate precautions, amongst others ordering Gobo to keep some yards +ahead and look out sharp, as I thought that the elephants might be +about. He obeyed my instructions with a superior smile, and pushed +ahead. Presently I saw him pull up as though he had been shot, and +begin to snap his fingers faintly. + +"'What is it?' I whispered. + +"'The elephant, the great elephant with one tusk kneeling down.' + +"I crept up beside him. There knelt the bull as I had left him last +night, and there too lay the other bulls. + +"'Do these elephants sleep?' I whispered to the astonished Gobo. + +"'Yes, Macumazahn, they sleep.' + +"'Nay, Gobo, they are dead.' + +"'Dead? How can they be dead? Who killed them?' + +"'What do people call me, Gobo?' + +"'They call you Macumazahn.' + +"'And what does Macumazahn mean?' + +"'It means the man who keeps his eyes open, the man who gets up in the +night.' + +"'Yes, Gobo, and I am that man. Look, you idle, lazy cowards; while +you slept last night I rose, and alone I hunted those great elephants, +and slew them by the moonlight. To each of them I gave one bullet and +only one, and it fell dead. Look,' and I advanced into the glade, +'here is my spoor, and here is the spoor of the great bull charging +after me, and there is the tree that I took refuge behind; see, the +elephant shattered it in his charge. Oh, you cowards, you who would +give up the chase while the blood spoor steamed beneath your nostrils, +see what I did single-handed while you slept, and be ashamed.' + +"'/Ou!/' said the men, '/ou!/ Koos! Koos y umcool!' (Chief, great +Chief!) And then they held their tongues, and going up to the three +dead beasts, gazed upon them in silence. + +"But after that those men looked upon me with awe as being almost more +than mortal. No mere man, they said, could have slain those three +elephants alone in the night-time. I never had any further trouble +with them. I believe that if I had told them to jump over a precipice +and that they would take no harm, they would have believed me. + +"Well, I went up and examined the bulls. Such tusks as they had I +never saw and never shall see again. It took us all day to cut them +out; and when they reached Delagoa Bay, as they did ultimately, though +not in my keeping, the single tusk of the big bull scaled one hundred +and sixty pounds, and the four other tusks averaged ninety-nine and a +half pounds--a most wonderful, indeed an almost unprecedented, lot of +ivory.[*] Unfortunately I was forced to saw the big tusk in two, +otherwise we could not have carried it." + +[*] The largest elephant tusk of which the Editor has any certain + knowledge scaled one hundred and fifty pounds. + +"Oh, Quatermain, you barbarian!" I broke in here, "the idea of +spoiling such a tusk! Why, I would have kept it whole if I had been +obliged to drag it myself." + +"Oh yes, young man," he answered, "it is all very well for you to talk +like that, but if you had found yourself in the position which it was +my privilege to occupy a few hours afterwards, it is my belief that +you would have thrown the tusks away altogether and taken to your +heels." + +"Oh," said Good, "so that isn't the end of the yarn? A very good yarn, +Quatermain, by the way--I couldn't have made up a better one myself." + +The old gentleman looked at Good severely, for it irritated him to be +chaffed about his stories. + +"I don't know what you mean, Good. I don't see that there is any +comparison between a true story of adventure and the preposterous +tales which you invent about ibex hanging by their horns. No, it is +not the end of the story; the most exciting part is to come. But I +have talked enough for to-night; and if you go on in that way, Good, +it will be some time before I begin again." + +"Sorry I spoke, I'm sure," said Good, humbly. "Let's have a split to +show that there is no ill-feeling." And they did. + + + +V + +THE MESSAGE OF MAIWA + +On the following evening we once more dined together, and Quatermain, +after some pressure, was persuaded to continue his story--for Good's +remark still rankled in his breast. + +"At last," he went on, "a few minutes before sunset, the task was +finished. We had laboured at it all day, stopping only once for +dinner, for it is no easy matter to hew out five such tusks as those +which now lay before me in a white and gleaming line. It was a dinner +worth eating, too, I can tell you, for we dined off the heart of the +great one-tusked bull, which was so big that the man whom I sent +inside the elephant to look for his heart was forced to remove it in +two pieces. We cut it into slices and fried it with fat, and I never +tasted heart to equal it, for the meat seemed to melt in one's mouth. +By the way, I examined the jaw of the elephant; it never grew but one +tusk; the other had not been broken off, nor was it present in a +rudimentary form. + +"Well, there lay the five beauties, or rather four of them, for Gobo +and another man were engaged in sawing the grand one in two. At last +with many sighs I ordered them to do this, but not until by practical +experiment I had proved that it was impossible to carry it in any +other way. One hundred and sixty pounds of solid ivory, or rather more +in its green state, is too great a weight for two men to bear for long +across a broken country. I sat watching the job and smoking the pipe +of contentment, when suddenly the bush opened, and a very handsome and +dignified native girl, apparently about twenty years of age, stood +before me, carrying a basket of green mealies upon her head. + +"Although I was rather surprised to see a native girl in such a wild +spot, and, so far as I knew, a long way from any kraal, the matter did +not attract my particular notice; I merely called to one of the men, +and told him to bargain with the woman for the mealies, and ask her if +there were any more to be bought in the neighbourhood. Then I turned +my head and continued to superintend the cutting of the tusk. +Presently a shadow fell upon me. I looked up, and saw that the girl +was standing before me, the basket of mealies still on her head. + +"'Marme, Marme,' she said, gently clapping her hands together. The +word Marme among these Matuku (though she was no Matuku) answers to +the Zulu 'Koos,' and the clapping of hands is a form of salutation +very common among the tribes of the Basutu race. + +"'What is it, girl?' I asked her in Sisutu. 'Are those mealies for +sale?' + +"'No, great white hunter,' she answered in Zulu, 'I bring them as a +gift.' + +"'Good,' I replied; 'set them down.' + +"'A gift for a gift, white man.' + +"'Ah,' I grumbled, 'the old story--nothing for nothing in this wicked +world. What do you want--beads?' + +"She nodded, and I was about to tell one of the men to go and fetch +some from one of the packs, when she checked me. + +"'A gift from the giver's own hand is twice a gift,' she said, and I +thought that she spoke meaningly. + +"'You mean that you want me to give them to you myself?' + +"'Surely.' + +"I rose to go with her. 'How is it that, being of the Matuku, you +speak in the Zulu tongue?' I asked suspiciously. + +"'I am not of the Matuku,' she answered as soon as we were out of +hearing of the men. 'I am of the people of Nala, whose tribe is the +Butiana tribe, and who lives there,' and she pointed over the +mountain. 'Also I am one of the wives of Wambe,' and her eyes flashed +as she said the name. + +"'And how did you come here?' + +"'On my feet,' she answered laconically. + +"We reached the packs, and undoing one of them, I extracted a handful +of beads. 'Now,' I said, 'a gift for a gift. Hand over the mealies.' + +"She took the beads without even looking at them, which struck me as +curious, and setting the basket of mealies on the ground, emptied it. + +"At the bottom of the basket were some curiously-shaped green leaves, +rather like the leaves of the gutta-percha tree in shape, only +somewhat thicker and of a more fleshy substance. As though by hazard, +the girl picked one of these leaves out of the basket and smelt it. +Then she handed it to me. I took the leaf, and supposing that she +wished me to smell it also, was about to oblige her by doing so, when +my eye fell upon some curious red scratches on the green surface of +the leaf. + +"'Ah,' said the girl (whose name, by the way, was Maiwa), speaking +beneath her breath, 'read the signs, white man.' + +"Without answering her I continued to stare at the leaf. It had been +scratched or rather written upon with a sharp tool, such as a nail, +and wherever this instrument had touched it, the acid juice oozing +through the outer skin had turned a rusty blood colour. Presently I +found the beginning of the scrawl, and read this in English, and +covering the surface of the leaf and of two others that were in the +basket. + + "'I hear that a white man is hunting in the Matuku country. This is + to warn him to fly over the mountain to Nala. Wambe sends an impi + at daybreak to eat him up, because he has hunted before bringing + hongo. For God's sake, whoever you are, try to help me. I have + been the slave of this devil Wambe for nearly seven years, and am + beaten and tortured continually. He murdered all the rest of us, + but kept me because I could work iron. Maiwa, his wife, takes + this; she is flying to Nala her father because Wambe killed her + child. Try to get Nala to attack Wambe; Maiwa can guide them over + the mountain. You won't come for nothing, for the stockade of + Wambe's private kraal is made of elephants' tusks. For God's sake, + don't desert me, or I shall kill myself. I can bear this no + longer. + +"'John Every.' + +"'Great heavens!' I gasped. 'Every!--why, it must be my old friend.' +The girl, or rather the woman Maiwa, pointed to the other side of the +leaf, where there was more writing. It ran thus--'I have just heard +that the white man is called Macumazahn. If so, it must be my friend +Quatermain. Pray Heaven it is, for I know he won't desert an old chum +in such a fix as I am. It isn't that I'm afraid of dying, I don't care +if I die, but I want to get a chance at Wambe first.' + +"'No, old boy,' thought I to myself, 'it isn't likely that I am going +to leave you there while there is a chance of getting you out. I have +played fox before now--there's still a double or two left in me. I +must make a plan, that's all. And then there's that stockade of tusks. +I am not going to leave that either.' Then I spoke to the woman. + +"'You are called Maiwa?' + +"'It is so.' + +"'You are the daughter of Nala and the wife of Wambe?' + +"'It is so.' + +"'You fly from Wambe to Nala?' + +"'I do.' + +"'Why do you fly? Stay, I would give an order,'--and calling to Gobo, +I ordered him to get the men ready for instant departure. The woman, +who, as I have said, was quite young and very handsome, put her hand +into a little pouch made of antelope hide which she wore fastened +round the waist, and to my horror drew from it the withered hand of a +child, which evidently had been carefully dried in the smoke. + +"'I fly for this cause,' she answered, holding the poor little hand +towards me. 'See now, I bore a child. Wambe was its father, and for +eighteen months the child lived and I loved it. But Wambe loves not +his children; he kills them all. He fears lest they should grow up to +slay one so wicked, and he would have killed this child also, but I +begged its life. One day, some soldiers passing the hut saw the child +and saluted him, calling him the "chief who soon shall be." Wambe +heard, and was mad. He smote the babe, and it wept. Then he said that +it should weep for good cause. Among the things that he had stolen +from the white men whom he slew is a trap that will hold lions. So +strong is the trap that four men must stand on it, two on either side, +before it can be opened.'" + + + +Here old Quatermain broke off suddenly. + +"Look here, you fellows," he said, "I can't bear to go on with this +part of the story, because I never could stand either seeing or +talking of the sufferings of children. You can guess what that devil +did, and what the poor mother was forced to witness. Would you believe +it, she told me the tale without a tremor, in the most matter-of-fact +way. Only I noticed that her eyelid quivered all the time. + +"'Well,' I said, as unconcernedly as though I had been talking of the +death of a lamb, though inwardly I was sick with horror and boiling +with rage, 'and what do you mean to do about the matter, Maiwa, wife +of Wambe?' + +"'I mean to do this, white man,' she answered, drawing herself up to +her full height, and speaking in tones as hard as steel and cold as +ice--'I mean to work, and work, and work, to bring this to pass, and +to bring that to pass, until at length it comes to pass that with +these living eyes I behold Wambe dying the death that he gave to his +child and my child.' + +"'Well said,' I answered. + +"'Ay, well said, Macumazahn, well said, and not easily forgotten. Who +could forget, oh, who could forget? See where this dead hand rests +against my side; so once it rested when alive. And now, though it is +dead, now every night it creeps from its nest and strokes my hair and +clasps my fingers in its tiny palm. Every night it does this, fearing +lest I should forget. Oh, my child! my child! ten days ago I held thee +to my breast, and now this alone remains of thee,' and she kissed the +dead hand and shivered, but never a tear did she weep. + +"'See now,' she went on, 'the white man, the prisoner at Wambe's +kraal, he was kind to me. He loved the child that is dead, yes, he +wept when its father slew it, and at the risk of his life told Wambe, +my husband--ah, yes, my husband!--that which he is! He too it was who +made a plan. He said to me, "Go, Maiwa, after the custom of thy +people, go purify thyself in the bush alone, having touched a dead +one. Say to Wambe thou goest to purify thyself alone for fifteen days, +according to the custom of thy people. Then fly to thy father, Nala, +and stir him up to war against Wambe for the sake of the child that is +dead." This then he said, and his words seemed good to me, and that +same night ere I left to purify myself came news that a white man +hunted in the country, and Wambe, being mad with drink, grew very +wrath, and gave orders that an impi should be gathered to slay the +white man and his people and seize his goods. Then did the "Smiter of +Iron" (Every) write the message on the green leaves, and bid me seek +thee out, and show forth the matter, that thou mightest save thyself +by flight; and behold, this thing have I done, Macumazahn, the hunter, +the Slayer of Elephants.' + +"'Ah,' I said, 'I thank you. And how many men be there in the impi of +Wambe?' + +"'A hundred of men and half a hundred.' + +"'And where is the impi?' + +"'There to the north. It follows on thy spoor. I saw it pass +yesterday, but myself I guessed that thou wouldst be nigher to the +mountain, and came this way, and found thee. To-morrow at the daybreak +the slayers will be here.' + +"'Very possibly,' I thought to myself; 'but they won't find +Macumazahn. I have half a mind to put some strychnine into the +carcases of those elephants for their especial benefit though.' I knew +that they would stop to eat the elephants, as indeed they did, to our +great gain, but I abandoned the idea of poisoning them, because I was +rather short of strychnine." + +"Or because you did not like to play the trick, Quatermain?" I +suggested with a laugh. + +"I said because I had not enough strychnine. It would take a great +deal of strychnine to poison three elephants effectually," answered +the old gentleman testily. + +I said nothing further, but I smiled, knowing that old Allan could +never have resorted to such an artifice, however severe his strait. +But that was his way; he always made himself out to be a most +unmerciful person. + + + +"Well," he went on, "at that moment Gobo came up and announced that we +were ready to march. 'I am glad that you are ready,' I said, 'because +if you don't march, and march quick, you will never march again, that +is all. Wambe has an impi out to kill us, and it will be here +presently.' + +"Gobo turned positively green, and his knees knocked together. 'Ah, +what did I say?' he exclaimed. 'Fate walks about loose in Wambe's +country.' + +"'Very good; now all you have to do is to walk a little quicker than +he does. No, no, you don't leave those elephant tusks behind--I am not +going to part with them I can tell you.' + +"Gobo said no more, but hastily directed the men to take up their +loads, and then asked which way we were to run. + +"'Ah,' I said to Maiwa, 'which way?' + +"'There,' she answered, pointing towards the great mountain spur which +towered up into the sky some forty miles away, separating the +territories of Nala and Wambe--'there, below that small peak, is one +place where men may pass, and one only. Also it can easily be blocked +from above. If men pass not there, then they must go round the great +peak of the mountain, two days' journey and half a day.' + +"'And how far is the peak from us?' + +"'All to-night shall you walk and all to-morrow, and if you walk fast, +at sunset you shall stand on the peak.' + +"I whistled, for that meant a five-and-forty miles trudge without +sleep. Then I called to the men to take each of them as much cooked +elephant's meat as he could carry conveniently. I did the same myself, +and forced the woman Maiwa to eat some as we went. This I did with +difficulty, for at that time she seemed neither to sleep nor eat nor +rest, so fiercely was she set on vengeance. + +"Then we started, Maiwa guiding us. After going for a half-hour over +gradually rising ground, we found ourselves on the further edge of a +great bush-clad depression something like the bottom of a lake. This +depression, through which we had been travelling, was covered with +bush to a very great extent, indeed almost altogether so, except where +it was pitted with glades such as that wherein I had shot the +elephants. + +"At the top of this slope Maiwa halted, and putting her hand over her +eyes looked back. Presently she touched me on the arm and pointed +across the sea of forest towards a comparatively vacant space of +country some six or seven miles away. I looked, and suddenly I saw +something flash in the red rays of the setting sun. A pause, and then +another quick flash. + +"'What is it?' I asked. + +"'It is the spears of Wambe's impi, and they travel fast,' she +answered coolly. + +"I suppose that my face showed how little I liked the news, for she +went on-- + +"'Fear not; they will stay to feast upon the elephants, and while they +feast we shall journey. We may yet escape.' + +"After that we turned and pushed on again, till at length it grew so +dark that we had to wait for the rising of the moon, which lost us +time, though it gave us rest. Fortunately none of the men had seen +that ominous flashing of the spears; if they had, I doubt if even I +could have kept control of them. As it was, they travelled faster than +I had ever known loaded natives to go before, so thorough-paced was +their desire to see the last of Wambe's country. I, however, took the +precaution to march last of all, fearing lest they should throw away +their loads to lighten themselves, or, worse still, the tusks; for +these kind of fellows would be capable of throwing anything away if +their own skins were at stake. If the pious neas, whose story you +were reading to me the other night, had been a mongrel Delagoa Bay +native, Anchises would have had a poor chance of getting out of Troy, +that is, if he was known to have made a satisfactory will. + +"At moonrise we set out again, and with short occasional halts +travelled till dawn, when we were forced to rest and eat. Starting +once more, about half-past five, we crossed the river at noon. Then +began the long toilsome ascent through thick bush, the same in which I +shot the bull buffalo, only some twenty miles to the west of that +spot, and not more than twenty-five miles on the hither side of +Wambe's kraal. There were six or seven miles of this dense bush, and +hard work it was to get through it. Next came a belt of scattered +forest which was easier to pass, though, in revenge, the ground was +steeper. This was about two miles wide, and we passed it by about four +in the afternoon. Above this scattered bush lay a long steep slope of +boulder-strewn ground, which ran up to the foot of the little peak +some three miles away. As we emerged, footsore and weary, on to this +inhospitable plain, some of the men looking round caught sight of the +spears of Wambe's impi advancing rapidly not more than a mile behind +us. + +"At first there was a panic, and the bearers tried to throw off their +loads and run, but I harangued them, calling out to them that +certainly I would shoot the first man who did so and that if they +would but trust in me I would bring them through the mess. Now, ever +since I had killed those three elephants single-handed, I had gained +great influence over these men, and they listened to me. So off we +went as hard as ever we could go--the members of the Alpine Club would +not have been in it with us. We made the boulders burn, as a Frenchman +would say. + +"When we had done about a mile the spears began to emerge from the +belt of scattered bush, and the whoop of their bearers as they viewed +us broke upon our ears. Quick as our pace had been before, it grew +much quicker now, for terror lent wings to my gallant crew. But they +were sorely tired, and the loads were heavy, so that run, or rather +climb, as we would, Wambe's soldiers, a scrubby-looking lot of men +armed with big spears and small shields, but without plumes, climbed +considerably faster. The last mile of that pleasing chase was like a +fox hunt, we being the fox, and always in view. What astonished me was +the extraordinary endurance and activity shown by Maiwa. She never +even flagged. I think that girl's muscles must have been made of iron, +or perhaps it was the strength of her will that supported her. At any +rate she reached the foot of the peak second, poor Gobo, who was an +excellent hand at running away, being first. + +"Presently I came up panting, and glanced at the ascent. Before us was +a wall of rock about one hundred and fifty feet in height, upon which +the strata were laid so as to form a series of projections +sufficiently resembling steps to make the ascent easy, comparatively +speaking, except at one spot, where it was necessary to climb over a +projecting angle of cliff and bear a little to the left. It was not a +really difficult place, but what made it awkward was, that immediately +beneath this projection gaped a deep fissure or donga, on the brink of +which we now stood, originally dug out, no doubt, by the rush of water +from the peak and cliff. This gulf beneath would be trying to the +nerves of a weak-headed climber at the critical point, and so it +proved in the result. The projecting angle once passed, the remainder +of the ascent was very simple. At the summit, however, the brow of the +cliff hung over and was pierced by a single narrow path cut through it +by water, in such fashion that a single boulder rolled into it at the +top would make the cliff quite impassable to men without ropes. + +"At this moment Wambe's soldiers were about a thousand yards from us, +so it was evident that we had no time to lose. I at once ordered the +men to commence the ascent, the girl Maiwa, who was familiar with the +pass, going first to show them the way. Accordingly they began to +mount with alacrity, pushing and lifting their loads in front of them. +When the first of them, led by Maiwa, reached the projecting angle, +they put down their loads upon a ledge of rock and clambered over. +Once there, by lying on their stomachs upon a boulder, they could +reach the loads which were held to them by the men beneath, and in +this way drag them over the awkward place, whence they were carried +easily to the top. + +"But all of this took time, and meanwhile the soldiers were coming up +fast, screaming and brandishing their big spears. They were now within +about four hundred yards, and several loads, together with all the +tusks, had yet to be got over the rock. I was still standing at the +bottom of the cliff, shouting directions to the men above, but it +occurred to me that it would soon be time to move. Before doing so, +however, I thought that it might be well to try and produce a moral +effect upon the advancing enemy. In my hand I held a Winchester +repeating carbine, but the distance was too great for me to use it +with effect, so I turned to Gobo, who was shivering with terror at my +side, and handing him the carbine, took my express from him. + +"The enemy was now about three hundred and fifty yards away, and the +express was only sighted to three hundred. Still I knew that it could +be trusted for the extra fifty yards. Running in front of Wambe's +soldiers were two men--captains, I suppose--one of them very tall. I +put up the three hundred yard flap, and sitting down with my back +against the rock, I drew a long breath to steady myself, and covered +the tall man, giving him a full sight. Feeling that I was on him, I +pulled, and before the sound of the striking bullet could reach my +ears, I saw the man throw up his arms and pitch forward on to his +head. His companion stopped dead, giving me a fair chance. I rapidly +covered him, and fired the left barrel. He turned round once, and then +sank down in a heap. This caused the enemy to hesitate--they had never +seen men killed at such a distance before, and thought that there was +something uncanny about the performance. Taking advantage of the lull, +I gave the express back to Gobo, and slinging the Winchester repeater +over my back I began to climb the cliff. + +"When we reached the projecting angle all the loads were over, but the +tusks still had to be passed up, and owing to their weight and the +smoothness of their surface, this was a very difficult task. Of course +I ought to have abandoned the tusks; often and often have I since +reproached myself for not doing so. Indeed, I think that my obstinacy +about them was downright sinful, but I was always obstinate about such +things, and I could not bear the idea of leaving those splendid tusks +which had cost me so much pains and danger to come by. Well, it nearly +cost me my life also, and did cost poor Gobo his, as will be seen +shortly, to say nothing of the loss inflicted by my rifle on the +enemy. When I reached the projection I found that the men, with their +usual stupidity, were trying to hand up the tusks point first. Now the +result of this was that those above had nothing to grip except the +round polished surface of the ivory, and in the position in which they +were, this did not give them sufficient hold to enable them to lift +the weight. I told them to reverse the tusks and push them up, so that +the rough and hollow ends came to the hands of the men above. This +they did, and the first two were dragged up in safety. + +"At this point, looking behind me, I saw the Matukus streaming up the +slope in a rough extended order, and not more than a hundred yards +away. Cocking the Winchester I turned and opened fire on them. I don't +quite know how many I missed, but I do know that I never shot better +in my life. I had to keep shifting myself from one enemy to the other, +firing almost without getting a sight, that is, by the eye alone, +after the fashion of the experts who break glass balls. But quick as +the work was, men fell thick, and by the time that I had emptied the +carbine of its twelve cartridges, for the moment the advance was +checked. I rapidly pushed in some more cartridges, and hardly had I +done so when the enemy, seeing that we were about to escape them +altogether, came on once more with a tremendous yell. By this time the +two halves of the single tusk of the great bull alone remained to be +passed up. I fired and fired as effectively as before, but +notwithstanding all that I could do, some men escaped my hail of +bullets and began to ascend the cliff. Presently my rifle was again +empty. I slung it over my back, and, drawing my revolver, turned to +run for it, the attackers being now quite close. As I did so, a spear +struck the cliff close to my head. + +"The last half of the tusk was now vanishing over the rock, and I sung +out to Gobo and the other man who had been pushing it up to vanish +after it. Gobo, poor fellow, required no second invitation; indeed, +his haste was his undoing. He went at the projecting rock with a +bound. The end of the tusk was still hanging over, and instead of +grasping the rock he caught at it. It twisted in his hand--he slipped +--he fell; with one wild shriek he vanished into the abyss beneath, +his falling body brushing me as it passed. For a moment we stood +aghast, and presently the dull thud of his fall smote heavily upon our +ears. Poor fellow, he had met the Fate which, as he declared, walked +about loose in Wambe's country. Then with an oath the remaining man +sprung at the rock and clambered over it in safety. Aghast at the +awfulness of what had happened, I stood still, till I saw the great +blade of a Matuku spear pass up between my feet. That brought me to my +senses, and I began to clamber up the rock like a cat. I was half way +round it. Already I had clasped the hand of that brave girl Maiwa, who +came down to help me, the men having scrambled forward with the ivory, +when I felt some one seize my ankle. + +"'Pull, Maiwa, pull,' I gasped, and she certainly did pull. Maiwa was +a very muscular woman, and never before did I appreciate the +advantages of the physical development of females so keenly. She +tugged at my left arm, the savage below tugged at my right leg, till I +began to realize that something must give way ere long. Luckily I +retained my presence of mind, like the man who threw his mother-in-law +out of the window, and carried the mattress down-stairs, when a fire +broke out in his house. My right hand was still free, and in it I held +my revolver, which was secured to my wrist by a leather thong. The +pistol was cocked, and I simply pointed it downwards and fired. The +result was instantaneous--and so far as I am concerned, most +satisfactory. The bullet hit the man beneath me somewhere, I am sure I +don't know where; at any rate, he let go of my leg and plunged +headlong into the gulf beneath to join Gobo. In another moment I was +on the top of the rock, and going up the remaining steps like a +lamplighter. A single other soldier appeared in pursuit, but one of my +boys at the top fired my elephant gun at him. I don't know if he hit +him or only frightened him; at any rate, he vanished whence he came. I +do know, however, that he very nearly hit /me/, for I felt the wind of +the bullet. + +"Another thirty seconds, and I and the woman Maiwa were at the top of +the cliff panting, but safe. + +"My men, being directed thereto by Maiwa, had most fortunately rolled +up some big boulders which lay about, and with these we soon managed +to block the passage through the overhanging ridge of rock in such +fashion that the soldiers below could not possibly climb over it. +Indeed, so far as I could see, they did not even try to do so--their +heart was turned to fat, as the Zulus say. + +"Then having rested a few moments we took up the loads, including the +tusks of ivory that had cost us so dear, and in silence marched on for +a couple of miles or more, till we reached a patch of dense bush. And +here, being utterly exhausted, we camped for the night, taking the +precaution, however, of setting a guard to watch against any attempt +at surprise. + + + +VI + +THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN + +"Notwithstanding all that we had gone through, perhaps indeed on +account of it, for I was thoroughly worn out, I slept that night as +soundly as poor Gobo, round whose crushed body the hynas would now be +prowling. Rising refreshed at dawn we went on our way towards Nala's +kraal, which we reached at nightfall. It is built on open ground after +the Zulu fashion, in a ring fence and with beehive huts. The cattle +kraal is behind and a little to the left. Indeed, both from their +habits and their talk it was easy to see that these Butiana belong to +that section of the Bantu people which, since T'Chaka's time, has been +known as the Zulu race. We did not see the chief Nala that night. His +daughter Maiwa went on to his private huts as soon as we arrived, and +very shortly afterwards one of his head men came to us bringing a +sheep and some mealies and milk with him. 'The chief sent us +greeting,' he said, 'and would see us on the morrow.' Meanwhile he was +ordered to bring us to a place of resting, where we and our goods +should be safe and undisturbed. Accordingly he led the way to some +very good huts just outside Nala's private enclosure, and here we +slept comfortably. + +"On the morrow about eight o'clock the head man came again, and said +that Nala requested that I would visit him. I followed him into the +private enclosure and was introduced to the chief, a fine-looking man +of about fifty, with very delicately-shaped hands and feet, and a +rather nervous mouth. The chief was seated on a tanned ox-hide outside +his hut. By his side stood his daughter Maiwa, and squatted on their +haunches round him were some twenty head men or Indunas, whose number +was continually added to by fresh arrivals. These men saluted me as I +entered, and the chief rose and took my hand, ordering a stool to be +brought for me to sit on. When this was done, with much eloquence and +native courtesy he thanked me for protecting his daughter in the +painful and dangerous circumstances in which she found herself placed, +and also complimented me very highly upon what he was pleased to call +the bravery with which I had defended the pass in the rocks. I +answered in appropriate terms, saying that it was to Maiwa herself +that thanks were due, for had it not been for her warning and +knowledge of the country we should not have been here to-day; while as +to the defence of the pass, I was fighting for my life, and that put +heart into me. + +"These courtesies concluded, Nala called upon his daughter Maiwa to +tell her tale to the head men, and this she did most simply and +effectively. She reminded them that she had gone as an unwilling bride +to Wambe--that no cattle had been paid for her, because Wambe had +threatened war if she was not sent as a free gift. Since she had +entered the kraal of Wambe her days had been days of heaviness and her +nights nights of weeping. She had been beaten, she had been neglected +and made to do the work of a low-born wife--she, a chief's daughter. +She had borne a child, and this was the story of the child. Then +amidst a dead silence she told them the awful tale which she had +already narrated to me. When she had finished, her hearers gave a loud +ejaculation. '/Ou!/' they said, '/ou!/ Maiwa, daughter of Nala!' + +"'Ay,' she went on with flashing eyes, 'ay, it is true; my mouth is as +full of truth as a flower of honey, and for tears my eyes are like the +dew upon the grass at dawn. It is true I saw the child die--here is +the proof of it, councillors,' and she drew forth the little dead hand +and held it before them. + +"'/Ou!/' they said again, '/ou!/ it is the dead hand!' + +"'Yes,' she continued, 'it is the dead hand of my dead child, and I +bear it with me that I may never forget, never for one short hour, +that I live that I may see Wambe die, and be avenged. Will you bear +it, my father, that your daughter and your daughter's child should be +so treated by a Matuku? Will ye bear it, men of my own people?' + +"'No,' said an old Induna, rising, 'it is not to be borne. Enough have +we suffered at the hands of these Matuku dogs and their loud-tongued +chief; let us put it to the issue.' + +"'It is not to be borne indeed,' said Nala; 'but how can we make head +against so great a people?' + +"'Ask of him--ask of Macumazahn, the wise white man,' said Maiwa, +pointing at me. + +"'How can we overcome Wambe, Macumazahn the hunter?' + +"'How does the jackal overreach the lion, Nala?' + +"'By cleverness, Macumazahn.' + +"'So shall you overcome Wambe, Nala.' + +"At this moment an interruption occurred. A man entered and said that +messengers had arrived from Wambe. + +"'What is their message?' asked Nala. + +"'They come to ask that thy daughter Maiwa be sent back, and with her +the white hunter.' + +"'How shall I make answer to this, Macumazahn?' said Nala, when the +man had withdrawn. + +"'Thus shalt thou answer,' I said after reflection; 'say that the +woman shall be sent and I with her, and then bid the messengers be +gone. Stay, I will hide myself here in the hut that the men may not +see me,' and I did. + +"Shortly afterwards, through a crack in the hut, I saw the messengers +arrive, and they were great truculent-looking fellows. There were four +of them, and evidently they had travelled night and day. They entered +with a swagger and squatted down before Nala. + +"'Your business?' said Nala, frowning. + +"'We come from Wambe, bearing the orders of Wambe to Nala his +servant,' answered the spokesman of the party. + +"'Speak,' said Nala, with a curious twitch of his nervous-looking +mouth. + +"'These are the words of Wambe: "Send back the woman, my wife, who has +run away from my kraal, and send with her the white man who has dared +to hunt in my country without my leave, and to slay my soldiers." +These are the words of Wambe.' + +"'And if I say I will not send them?' asked Nala. + +"'Then on behalf of Wambe we declare war upon you. Wambe will eat you +up. He will wipe you out; your kraals shall be stamped flat--so,' and +with an expressive gesture he drew his hand across his mouth to show +how complete would be the annihilation of that chief who dared to defy +Wambe. + +"'These are heavy words,' said Nala. 'Let me take counsel before I +answer.' + +"Then followed a little piece of acting that was really very +creditable to the untutored savage mind. The heralds withdrew, but not +out of sight, and Nala went through the show of earnestly consulting +his Indunas. The girl Maiwa too flung herself at his feet, and +appeared to weep and implore his protection, while he wrung his hands +as though in doubt and tribulation of mind. At length he summoned the +messengers to draw near, and addressed them, while Maiwa sobbed very +realistically at his side. + +"'Wambe is a great chief,' said Nala, 'and this woman is his wife, +whom he has a right to claim. She must return to him, but her feet are +sore with walking, she cannot come now. In eight days from this day +she shall be delivered at the kraal of Wambe; I will send her with a +party of my men. As for the white hunter and his men, I have nought to +do with them, and cannot answer for their misdeeds. They have wandered +hither unbidden by me, and I will deliver them back whence they came, +that Wambe may judge them according to his law; they shall be sent +with the girl. For you, go your ways. Food shall be given you without +the kraal, and a present for Wambe in atonement of the ill-doing of my +daughter. I have spoken.' + +"At first the heralds seemed inclined to insist upon Maiwa's +accompanying them then and there, but on being shown the swollen +condition of her feet, ultimately they gave up the point and departed. + +"When they were well out of the way I emerged from the hut, and we +went on to discuss the situation and make our plans. First of all, as +I was careful to explain to Nala, I was not going to give him my +experience and services for nothing. I heard that Wambe had a stockade +round his kraal made of elephant tusks. These tusks, in the event of +our succeeding in the enterprise, I should claim as my perquisite, +with the proviso that Nala should furnish me with men to carry them +down to the coast. + +"To this modest request Nala and the head men gave an unqualified and +hearty assent, the more hearty perhaps because they never expected to +get the ivory. + +"The next thing I stipulated was, that if we conquered, the white man +John Every should be handed over to me, together with any goods which +he might claim. His cruel captivity was, I need hardly say, the only +reason that induced me to join in so hair-brained an expedition, but I +was careful from motives of policy to keep this fact in the +background. Nala accepted this condition. My third stipulation was +that no women or children should be killed. This being also agreed to, +we went on to consider ways and means. Wambe, it appeared, was a very +powerful petty chief, that is, he could put at least six thousand +fighting men into the field, and always had from three to four +thousand collected about his kraal, which was supposed to be +impregnable. Nala, on the contrary, at such short notice could not +collect more than from twelve to thirteen hundred men, though, being +of the Zulu stock, they were of much better stuff for fighting +purposes than Wambe's Matukus. + +"These odds, though large, under the circumstances were not +overwhelming. The real obstacle to our chance of success was the +difficulty of delivering a crushing assault against Wambe's strong +place. This was, it appeared, fortified all round with schanses or +stone walls, and contained numerous caves and koppies in the hill-side +and at the foot of the mountain which no force had ever been able to +capture. It is said that in the time of the Zulu monarch Dingaan, a +great impi of that king's having penetrated to this district, had +delivered an assault upon the kraal then owned by a forefather of +Wambe's, and been beaten back with the loss of more than a thousand +men. + +"Having thought the question over, I interrogated Maiwa closely as to +the fortifications and the topographical peculiarities of the spot, +and not without results. I discovered that the kraal was indeed +impregnable to a front attack, but that it was very slightly defended +to the rear, which ran up a slope of the mountain, indeed only by two +lines of stone walls. The reason of this was that the mountain is +quite impassable except by one secret path supposed to be known only +to the chief and his councillors, and this being so, it had not been +considered necessary to fortify it. + +"'Well,' I said, when she had done, 'and now as to this secret path of +thine--knowest thou aught of it?' + +"'Ay,' she answered, 'I am no fool, Macumazahn. Knowledge learned is +power earned. I won the secret of that path.' + +"'And canst thou guide an impi thereon so that it shall fall upon the +town from behind?' + +"'Yes, I can do this, if only Wambe's people know not that the impi +comes, for if they know, then they can block the way.' + +"'So then here is my plan. Listen, Nala, and say if it be good, or if +thou hast a better, show it forth. Let messengers go out and summon +all thy impi, that it be gathered here on the third day from now. This +being done, let the impi, led by Maiwa, march on the morrow of the +fourth day, and crossing the mountains let it travel along on the +other side of the mountains till it come to the place on the further +side of which is the kraal of Wambe; that shall be some three days' +journey in all.[*] Then on the night of the third day's journey, let +Maiwa lead the impi in silence up the secret path, so that it comes to +the crest of the mountain that is above the strong place, and here let +it hide among the rocks. + +[*] About one hundred and twenty miles.--Editor. + +"'Meanwhile on the sixth day from now let one of thy Indunas, Nala, +bring with him two hundred men that have guns, and lead me and my men +as prisoners, and take also a girl from among the Butiana people, who +by form and face is like unto Maiwa, and bind her hands, and pass by +the road on which we came and through the cutting in the cliff on to +the kraal of Wambe. But the men shall take no shields or plumes with +them, only their guns and one short spear, and when they meet the +people of Wambe they shall say that they come to give up the woman and +the white man and his party to Wambe, and to make atonement to Wambe. +So shall they pass in peace. And travelling thus, on the evening of +the seventh day we shall come to the gates of the place of Wambe, and +nigh the gates there is, so says Maiwa, a koppie very strong and full +of rocks and caves, but having no soldiers on it except in time of +war, or at the worst but a few such as can easily be overpowered. + +"'This being done, at the dawn of day the impi on the mountain behind +the town must light a fire and put wet grass on it, so that the smoke +goes up. Then at the sight of the smoke we in the koppie will begin to +shoot into the town of Wambe, and all the soldiers will run to kill +us. But we will hold our own, and while we fight the impi shall charge +down the mountain side and climb the schanses, and put those who +defend them to the assegai, and then falling upon the town shall +surprise it, and drive the soldiers of Wambe as a wind blows the dead +husks of corn. This is my plan. I have spoken.' + +"'/Ou!/' said Nala, 'it is good, it is very good. The white man is +cleverer than a jackal. Yes, so shall it be; and may the snake of the +Butiana people stand up upon its tail and prosper the war, for so +shall we be rid of Wambe and the tyrannies of Wambe.' + +"After that the girl Maiwa stood up, and once more producing the +dreadful little dried hand, made her father and several of his head +councillors swear by it and upon it that they would carry out the war +of vengeance to the bitter end. It was a very curious sight to see. +And by the way, the fight that ensued was thereafter known among the +tribes of that district as the War of the Little Hand. + +"The next two days were busy ones for us. Messengers were sent out, +and every available man of the Butiana tribe was ordered up to 'a +great dance.' The country was small, and by the evening of the second +day, some twelve hundred and fifty men were assembled with their +assegais and shields, and a fine hardy troop they were. At dawn of the +following day, the fourth from the departure of the heralds, the main +impi, having been doctored in the usual fashion, started under the +command of Nala himself, who, knowing that his life and chieftainship +hung upon the issue of the struggle, wisely determined to be present +to direct it. With them went Maiwa, who was to guide them up the +secret path. Of course we were obliged to give them two days' start, +as they had more than a hundred miles of rough country to pass, +including the crossing of the great mountain range which ran north and +south, for it was necessary that the impi should make a wide dtour in +order to escape detection. + +"At length, however, at dawn on the sixth day, I took the road, +accompanied by my most unwilling bearers, who did not at all like the +idea of thus putting their heads into the lion's mouth. Indeed, it was +only the fear of Nala's spears, together with a vague confidence in +myself, that induced them to accept the adventure. With me also were +about two hundred Butianas, all armed with guns of various kinds, for +many of these people had guns, though they were not very proficient in +the use of them. But they carried no shields and wore no head-dress or +armlets; indeed, every warlike appearance was carefully avoided. With +our party went also a sister of Maiwa's, though by a different mother, +who strongly resembled her in face and form, and whose mission it was +to impersonate the runaway wife. + +"That evening we camped upon the top of the cliff up which we had so +barely escaped, and next morning at the first breaking of the light we +rolled away the stones with which we had blocked the passage some days +before, and descended to the hill-side beneath. Here the bodies, or +rather the skeletons of the men who had fallen before my rifle, still +lay about. The Matuku soldiers had left their comrades to be buried by +the vultures. I descended the gully into which poor Gobo had fallen, +and searched for his body, but in vain, although I found the spot +where he and the other man had struck, together with the bones of the +latter, which I recognized by the waist-cloth. Either some beast of +prey had carried Gobo off, or the Matuku people had disposed of his +remains, and also of my express rifle which he carried. At any rate, I +never saw or heard any more of him. + +"Once in Wambe's country, we adopted a very circumspect method of +proceeding. About fifty men marched ahead in loose order to guard +against surprise, while as many more followed behind. The remaining +hundred were gathered in a bunch between, and in the centre of these +men I marched, together with the girl who was personating Maiwa, and +all my bearers. We were disarmed, and some of my men were tied +together to show that we were prisoners, while the girl had a blanket +thrown over her head, and moved along with an air of great dejection. +We headed straight for Wambe's place, which was at a distance of about +twenty-five miles from the mountain-pass. + +"When we had gone some five miles we met a party of about fifty of +Wambe's soldiers, who were evidently on the look-out for us. They +stopped us, and their captain asked where we were going. The head man +of our party answered that he was conveying Maiwa, Wambe's runaway +wife, together with the white hunter and his men, to be given up to +Wambe in accordance with his command. The captain then wanted to know +why we were so many, to which our spokesman replied that I and my men +were very desperate fellows, and that it was feared that if we were +sent with a smaller escort we should escape, and bring disgrace and +the wrath of Wambe upon their tribe. Thereon this gentleman, the +Matuku captain, began to amuse himself at my expense, and mock me, +saying that Wambe would make me pay for the soldiers whom I had +killed. He would put me into the 'Thing that bites,' in other words, +the lion trap, and leave me there to die like a jackal caught by the +leg. I made no answer to this, though my wrath was great, but +pretended to look frightened. Indeed there was not much pretence about +it, I was frightened. I could not conceal from myself that ours was a +most hazardous enterprise, and that it was very possible that I might +make acquaintance with that lion trap before I was many days older. +However, it seemed quite impossible to desert poor Every in his +misfortune, so I had to go on, and trust to Providence, as I have so +often been obliged to do before and since. + +"And now a fresh difficulty arose. Wambe's soldiers insisted upon +accompanying us, and what is more, did all they could to urge us +forward, as they were naturally anxious to get to the chief's place +before evening. But we, on the other hand, had excellent reasons for +not arriving till night was closing in, since we relied upon the gloom +to cover our advance upon the koppie which commanded the town. +Finally, they became so importunate that we were obliged to refuse +flatly to move faster, alleging as a reason that the girl was tired. +They did not accept this excuse in good part, and at one time I +thought that we should have come to blows, for there is no love lost +between Butianas and Matukus. At last, however, either from motives of +policy, or because they were so evidently outnumbered, they gave in +and suffered us to go our own pace. I earnestly wished that they would +have added to the obligation by going theirs, but this they declined +absolutely to do. On the contrary, they accompanied us every foot of +the way, keeping up a running fire of allusions to the 'Thing that +bites' that jarred upon my nerves and discomposed my temper. + +"About half-past four in the afternoon we came to a neck or ridge of +stony ground, whence we could see Wambe's town plainly lying some six +or seven miles away, and three thousand feet beneath us. The town is +built in a valley, with the exception of Wambe's own kraal, that is +situated at the mouth of some caves upon the slope of the opposing +mountains, over which I hoped to see our impi's spears flashing in the +morrow's light. Even from where we stood, it was easy to see how +strongly the place was fortified with schanses and stone walls, and +how difficult of approach. Indeed, unless taken by surprise, it seemed +to me quite impregnable to a force operating without cannon, and even +cannon would not make much impression on rocks and stony koppies +filled with caves. + +"Then came the descent of the pass, and an arduous business it was, +for the path--if it may be called a path--is almost entirely composed +of huge water-worn boulders, from the one to the other of which we +must jump like so many grasshoppers. It took us two hours to climb +down, and, travelling through that burning sun, when at last we did +reach the bottom, I for one was nearly played out. Shortly afterwards, +just as it was growing dark, we came to the first line of +fortifications, which consisted of a triple stone wall pierced by a +gateway, so narrow that a man could hardly squeeze through it. We +passed this without question, being accompanied by Wambe's soldiers. +Then, came a belt of land three hundred paces or more in width, very +rocky and broken, and having no huts upon it. Here in hollows in this +belt the cattle were kraaled in case of danger. On the further side +were more fortifications and another small gateway shaped like a V, +and just beyond and through it I saw the koppie we had planned to +seize looming up against the line of mountains behind. + +"As we went I whispered my suggestions to our captain, with the result +that at the second gateway he halted the cavalcade, and addressing the +captain of Wambe's soldiers, said that we would wait here till we +received Wambe's word to enter the town. The other man said that this +was well, only he must hand over the prisoners to be taken up to the +chief's kraal, for Wambe, was 'hungry to begin upon them,' and his +'heart desired to see the white man at rest before he closed his eyes +in sleep,' and as for his wife, 'surely he would welcome her.' Our +leader replied that he could not do this thing, because his orders +were to deliver the prisoners to Wambe at Wambe's own kraal, and they +might not be broken. How could he be responsible for the safety of the +prisoners if he let them out of his hand? No, they would wait there +till Wambe's word was brought. + +"To this, after some demur, the other man consented, and went away, +remarking that he would soon be back. As he passed me he called out +with a sneer, pointing as he did so to the fading red in the western +sky--'Look your last upon the light, White Man, for the "Thing that +bites" lives in the dark.' + +"Next day it so happened that I shot this man, and, do you know, I +think that he is about the only human being who has come to harm at my +hands for whom I do not feel sincere sorrow and, in a degree, remorse. + + + +VII + +THE ATTACK + +"Just where we halted ran a little stream of water. I looked at it, +and an idea struck me: probably there would be no water on the koppie. +I suggested this to our captain, and, acting on the hint, he directed +all the men to drink what they could, and also to fill the seven or +eight cooking pots which we carried with us with water. Then came the +crucial moment. How were we to get possession of the koppie? When the +captain asked me, I said that I thought that we had better march up +and take it, and this accordingly we went on to do. When we came to +the narrow gateway we were, as I expected stopped by two soldiers who +stood on guard there and asked our business. The captain answered that +we had changed our minds, and would follow on to Wambe's kraal. The +soldiers said no, we must now wait. + +"To this we replied by pushing them to one side and marching in single +file through the gateway, which was not distant more than a hundred +yards from the koppie. While we were getting through, the men we had +pushed away ran towards the town calling for assistance, a call that +was promptly responded to, for in another minute we saw scores of +armed men running hard in our direction. So we ran too, for the +koppie. As soon as they understood what we were after, which they did +not at first, owing to the dimness of the light, they did their best +to get there before us. But we had the start of them, and with the +exception of one unfortunate man who stumbled and fell, we were well +on to the koppie before they arrived. This man they captured, and when +fighting began on the following morning, and he refused to give any +information, they killed him. Luckily they had no time to torture him, +or they would certainly have done so, for these Matuku people are very +fond of torturing their enemies. + +"When we reached the koppie, the base of which covers about half an +acre of ground, the soldiers who had been trying to cut us off halted, +for they knew the strength of the position. This gave us a few minutes +before the light had quite vanished to reconnoitre the place. We found +that it was unoccupied, fortified with a regular labyrinth of stone +walls, and contained three large caves and some smaller ones. The next +business was to post the soldiers to such advantage as time would +allow. My own men I was careful to place quite at the top. They were +perfectly useless from terror, and I feared that they might try to +escape and give information of our plans to Wambe. So I watched them +like the apple of my eye, telling them that should they dare to stir +they would be shot. + +"Then it grew quite dark, and presently out of the darkness I heard a +voice--it was that of the leader of the soldiers who had escorted us-- +calling us to come down. We replied that it was too dark to move, we +should hit our feet against the stones. He insisted upon our +descending, and we flatly refused, saying that if any attempt was made +to dislodge us we would fire. After that, as they had no real +intention of attacking us in the dark, the men withdrew, but we saw +from the fires which were lit around that they were keeping a strict +watch upon our position. + +"That night was a wearing one, for we never quite knew how the +situation was going to develop. Fortunately we had some cooked food +with us, so we did not starve. It was lucky, however, that we drunk +our fill before coming up, for, as I had anticipated, there was not a +drop of water on the koppie. + +"At length the night wore away, and with the first tinge of light I +began to go my rounds, and stumbling along the stony paths, to make +things as ready as I could for the attack, which I felt sure would be +delivered before we were two hours older. The men were cramped and +cold, and consequently low-spirited, but I exhorted them to the best +of my ability, bidding them remember the race from which they sprang, +and not to show the white feather before a crowd of Matuku dogs. At +length it began to grow light, and presently I saw long columns of men +advancing towards the koppie. They halted under cover at a distance of +about a hundred and fifty yards, and just as the dawn broke a herald +came forward and called to us. Our captain stood up upon a rock and +answered him. + +"'These are the words of Wambe,' the herald said. 'Come forth from the +koppie, and give over the evil-doers, and go in peace, or stay in the +koppie and be slain.' + +"'It is too early to come out as yet,' answered our man in fine +diplomatic style. 'When the sun sucks up the mist then we will come +out. Our limbs are stiff with cold.' + +"'Come forth even now,' said the herald. + +"'Not if I know it, my boy,' said I to myself; but the captain replied +that he would come out when he thought proper, and not before. + +"'Then make ready to die,' said the herald, for all the world like the +villain of a transpontine piece, and majestically stalked back to the +soldiers. + +"I made my final arrangements, and looked anxiously at the mountain +crest a couple of miles or so away, from which the mist was now +beginning to lift, but no column of smoke could I see. I whistled, for +if the attacking force had been delayed or made any mistake, our +position was likely to grow rather warm. We had barely enough water to +wet the mouths of the men, and when once it was finished we could not +hold the place for long in that burning heat. + +"At length, just as the sun rose in glory over the heights behind us, +the Matuku soldiers, of whom about fifteen hundred were now assembled, +set up a queer whistling noise, which ended in a chant. Then some +shots were fired, for the Matuku had a few guns, but without effect, +though one bullet passed just by a man's head. + +"'Now they are going to begin,' I thought to myself, and I was not far +wrong, for in another minute the body of men divided into three +companies, each about five hundred strong, and, heralded by a running +fire, charged at us on three sides. Our men were now all well under +cover, and the fire did us no harm. I mounted on a rock so as to +command a view of as much of the koppie and plain as possible, and +yelled to our men to reserve their fire till I gave the word, and then +to shoot low and load as quickly as possible. I knew that, like all +natives, they were sure to be execrable shots, and that they were +armed with weapons made out of old gas-pipes, so the only chance of +doing execution was to let the enemy get right on to us. + +"On they came with a rush; they were within eighty yards now, and as +they drew near the point of attack, I observed that they closed their +ranks, which was so much the better for us. + +"'Shall we not fire, my father?' sung out the captain. + +"'No, confound you!' I answered. + +"'Sixty yards--fifty--forty--thirty. Fire, you scoundrels!' I yelled, +setting the example by letting off both barrels of my elephant gun +into the thickest part of the company opposite to me. + +"Instantly the place rang out with the discharge of two hundred and +odd guns, while the air was torn by the passage of every sort of +missile, from iron pot legs down to slugs and pebbles coated with +lead. The result was very prompt. The Matukus were so near that we +could not miss them, and at thirty yards a lead-coated stone out of a +gas-pipe is as effective as a Martini rifle, or more so. Over rolled +the attacking soldiers by the dozen, while the survivors, fairly +frightened, took to their heels. We plied them with shot till they +were out of range--I made it very warm for them with the elephant gun, +by the way--and then we loaded up in quite a cheerful frame of mind, +for we had not lost a man, whereas I could count more than fifty dead +and wounded Matukus. The only thing that damped my ardour was that, +stare as I would, I could see no column of smoke upon the mountain +crest. + +"Half an hour elapsed before any further steps were taken against us. +Then the attacking force adopted different tactics. Seeing that it was +very risky to try to rush us in dense masses, they opened out into +skirmishing order and ran across the open space in lots of five and +six. As it happened, right at the foot of the koppie the ground broke +away a little in such fashion that it was almost impossible for us to +search it effectually with our fire. On the hither side of this dip +Wambe's soldiers were now congregating in considerable numbers. Of +course we did them as much damage as we could while they were running +across, but this sort of work requires good shots, and that was just +what we had not got. Another thing was, that so many of our men would +insist upon letting off the things they called guns at every little +knot of the enemy that ran across. Thus, the first few lots were +indeed practically swept away, but after that, as it took a long while +to load the gas-pipes and old flint muskets, those who followed got +across in comparative safety. For my own part, I fired away with the +elephant gun and repeating carbine till they grew almost too hot to +hold, but my individual efforts could do nothing to stop such a rush, +or perceptibly to lessen the number of our enemies. + +"At length there were at least a thousand men crowded into the dip of +ground within a few yards of us, whence those of them who had guns +kept up a continued fusillade upon the koppie. They killed two of my +bearers in this way, and wounded a third, for being at the top of the +koppie these men were most exposed to the fire from the dip at its +base. Seeing that the situation was growing most serious, at length, +by the dint of threats and entreaties, I persuaded the majority of our +people to cease firing useless shots, to reload, and prepare for the +rush. Scarcely had I done so when the enemy came for us with a roar. I +am bound to say that I should never have believed that Matukus had it +in them to make such a determined charge. A large party rushed round +the base of the koppie, and attacked us in flank, while the others +swarmed wherever they could get a foothold, so that we were taken on +every side. + +"'/Fire!/' I cried, and we did with terrible effect. Many of their men +fell, but though we checked we could not stop them. They closed up and +rushed the first fortification, killing a good number of its +defenders. It was almost all cold steel work now, for we had no time +to reload, and that suited the Butiana habits of fighting well enough, +for the stabbing assegai is a weapon which they understand. Those of +our people who escaped from the first line of walls took refuge in the +second, where I stood myself, encouraging them, and there the fight +raged fiercely. Occasionally parties of the enemy would force a +passage, only to perish on the hither side beneath the Butiana spears. +But still they kept it up, and I saw that, fight as we would, we were +doomed. We were altogether outnumbered, and to make matters worse, +fresh bodies of soldiers were pouring across the plain to the +assistance of our assailants. So I made up my mind to direct a retreat +into the caves, and there expire in a manner as heroic as +circumstances would allow; and while mentally lamenting my hard fate +and reflecting on my sins I fought away like a fiend. It was then, I +remember, that I shot my friend the captain of our escort of the +previous day. He had caught sight of me, and making a vicious dig at +my stomach with a spear (which I successfully dodged), shouted out, or +rather began to shout out, one of his unpleasant allusions to the +'Thing that----' He never got as far as 'bites,' because I shot him +after 'that.' + +"Well, the game was about up. Already I saw one man throw down his +spear in token of surrender--which act of cowardice cost him his life, +by the way--when suddenly a shout arose. + +"'Look at the mountain,' they cried; 'there is an impi on the mountain +side.' + +"I glanced up, and there sure enough, about half-way down the +mountain, nearing the first fortification, the long-plumed double line +of Nala's warriors was rushing down to battle, the bright light of the +morning glancing on their spears. Afterwards we discovered that the +reason of their delay was that they had been stopped by a river in +flood, and could not reach the mountain crest by dawn. When they did +reach it, however, they saw instantly that the fight was already going +on, was 'in flower,' as they put it, and so advanced at once without +waiting to light signal-fires. + +"Meanwhile they had been observed from the town, and parties of +soldiers were charging up the steep side of the hill, to occupy the +schanses, and the second line of fortifications behind them. The first +line they did not now attempt to reach or defend; Nala pressed them +too close. But they got to the schanses or pits protected with stone +walls, and constructed to hold from a dozen to twenty men, and soon +began to open fire from them, and from isolated rocks. I turned my +eyes to the gates of the town, which were placed to the north and +south. Already they were crowded with hundreds of fugitive women and +children flying to the rocks and caves for shelter from the foe. + +"As for ourselves, the appearance of Nala's impi produced a wonderful +change for the better in our position. The soldiers attacking us +turned, realizing that the town was being assailed from the rear, and +clambering down the koppie streamed off to protect their homes against +this new enemy. In five minutes there was not a man left except those +who would move no more, or were too sorely wounded to escape. I felt +inclined to ejaculate '/Saved!/' like the gentleman in the play, but +did not because the occasion was too serious. What I did do was to +muster all the men and reckon up our losses. They amounted to fifty- +one killed and wounded, sixteen men having been killed outright. Then +I sent men with the cooking-pots to the stream of water, and we drank. +This done I set my bearers, being the most useless part of the +community, from a fighting point of view, to the task of attending the +injured, and turned to watch the fray. + +"By this time Nala's impi had climbed the first line of fortifications +without opposition, and was advancing in a long line upon the schanses +or pits which were scattered about between it and the second line, +singing a war chant as it came. Presently puffs of smoke began to +start from the schanses, and with my glasses I could see several of +our men falling over. Then as they came opposite a schanse that +portion of the long line of warriors would thicken up and charge it +with a wild rush. I could see them leap on to the walls and vanish +into the depths beneath, some of their number falling backward on each +occasion, shot or stabbed to death. + +"Next would come another act in the tragedy. Out from the hither side +of the schanse would pour such of its defenders as were left alive, +perhaps three or four and perhaps a dozen, running for dear life, with +the war dogs on their tracks. One by one they would be caught, then up +flashed the great spear and down fell the pursued--dead. I saw ten of +our men leap into one large schanse, but though I watched for some +time nobody came out. Afterwards we inspected the place and found +these men all dead, together with twenty-three Matukus. Neither side +would give in, and they had fought it out to the bitter end. + +"At last they neared the second line of fortifications, behind which +the whole remaining Matuku force, numbering some two thousand men, was +rapidly assembling. One little pause to get their breath, and Nala's +men came at it with a rush and a long wild shout of '/Bulala Matuku/' +(kill the Matuku) that went right through me, thrilling every nerve. +Then came an answering shout, and the sounds of heavy firing, and +presently I saw our men retreating, somewhat fewer in numbers than +they had advanced. Their welcome had been a warm one for the Matuku +fight splendidly behind walls. This decided me that it was necessary +to create a diversion; if we did not do so it seemed very probable +that we should be worsted after all. I called to the captain of our +little force, and rapidly put the position before him. + +"Seeing the urgency of the occasion, he agreed with me that we must +risk it, and in two minutes more, with the exception of my own men, +whom I left to guard the wounded, we were trotting across the open +space and through the deserted town towards the spot where the +struggle was taking place, some seven hundred yards away. In six or +eight minutes we reached a group of huts--it was a head man's kraal, +that was situated about a hundred and twenty yards behind the +fortified wall, and took possession of it unobserved. The enemy was +too much engaged with the foe in front of him to notice us, and +besides, the broken ground rose in a hog-back shape between. There we +waited a minute or two and recovered our breath, while I gave my +directions. So soon as we heard the Butiana impi begin to charge +again, we were to run out in a line to the brow of the hogback and +pour our fire into the mass of defenders behind the wall. Then the +guns were to be thrown down and we must charge with the assegai. We +had no shields, but that could not be helped; there would be no time +to reload the guns, and it was absolutely necessary that the enemy +should be disconcerted at the moment when the main attack was +delivered. + +"The men, who were as plucky a set of fellows as ever I saw, and whose +blood was now thoroughly up, consented to this scheme, though I could +see that they thought it rather a large order, as indeed I did myself. +But I knew that if the impi was driven back a second time the game +would be played, and for me at any rate it would be a case of the +'Thing that bites,' and this sure and certain knowledge filled my +breast with valour. + +"We had not long to wait. Presently we heard the Butiana war-song +swelling loud and long; they had commenced their attack. I made a +sign, and the hundred and fifty men, headed by myself, poured out of +the kraal, and getting into a rough line ran up the fifty or sixty +yards of slope that intervened between ourselves and the crest of the +hog-backed ridge. In thirty seconds we were there, and immediately +beyond us was the main body of the Matuku host waiting the onslaught +of the enemy with guns and spears. Even now they did not see us, so +intent were they upon the coming attack. I signed to my men to take +careful aim, and suddenly called out to them to fire, which they did +with a will, dropping thirty or forty Matukus. + +"'/Charge!/' I shouted, again throwing down my smoking rifle and +drawing my revolver, an example which they followed, snatching up +their spears from the ground where they had placed them while they +fired. The men set up a savage whoop, and we started. I saw the Matuku +soldiers wheel around in hundreds, utterly taken aback at this new +development of the situation. And looking over them, before we had +gone twenty yards I saw something else. For of a sudden, as though +they had risen from the earth, there appeared above the wall hundreds +of great spears, followed by hundreds of savage faces shadowed with +drooping plumes. With a yell they sprang upon the wall shaking their +broad shields, and with a yell they bounded from it straight into our +astonished foes. + +"/Crash!/ we were in them now, and fighting like demons. /Crash!/ from +the other side. Nala's impi was at its work, and still the spears and +plumes appeared for a moment against the brown background of the +mountain, and then sprang down and rushed like a storm upon the foe. +The great mob of men turned this way and turned that way, astonished, +bewildered, overborne by doubt and terror. + +"Meanwhile the slayers stayed not their hands, and on every side +spears flashed, and the fierce shout of triumph went up to heaven. +There too on the wall stood Maiwa, a white garment streaming from her +shoulders, an assegai in her hand, her breast heaving, her eyes +flashing. Above all the din of battle I could catch the tones of her +clear voice as she urged the soldiers on to victory. But victory was +not yet. Wambe's soldiers gathered themselves together, and bore our +men back by the sheer weight of numbers. They began to give, then once +more they rallied, and the fight hung doubtfully. + +"'Slay, you war-whelps,' cried Maiwa from the wall. 'Are you afraid, +you women, you chicken-hearted women! Strike home, or die like dogs! +What--you give way! Follow me, children of Nala.' And with one long +cry she leapt from the wall as leaps a stricken antelope, and holding +the spear poised rushed right into the thickest of the fray. The +warriors saw her, and raised such a shout that it echoed like thunder +against the mountains. They massed together, and following the flutter +of her white robe crashed into the dense heart of the foe. Down went +the Matuku before them like trees before a whirlwind. Nothing could +stand in the face of such a rush as that. It was as the rush of a +torrent bursting its banks. All along their line swept the wild +desperate charge; and there, straight in the forefront of the battle, +still waved the white robe of Maiwa. + +"Then they broke, and, stricken with utter panic, Wambe's soldiers +streamed away a scattered crowd of fugitives, while after them +thundered the footfall of the victors. + +"The fight was over, we had won the day; and for my part I sat down +upon a stone and wiped my forehead, thanking Providence that I had +lived to see the end of it. Twenty minutes later Nala's warriors began +to return panting. 'Wambe's soldiers had taken to the bush and the +caves,' they said, 'where they had not thought it safe to follow +them,' adding significantly, that many had stopped on the way. + +"I was utterly dazed, and now that the fight was over my energy seemed +to have left me, and I did not pay much attention, till presently I +was aroused by somebody calling me by my name. I looked up, and saw +that it was the chief Nala himself, who was bleeding from a flesh +wound in his arm. By his side stood Maiwa panting, but unhurt, and +wearing on her face a proud and terrifying air. + +"'They are gone, Macumazahn,' said the chief; 'there is little to fear +from them, their heart is broken. But where is Wambe the chief?--and +where is the white man thou camest to save?' + +"'I know not,' I answered. + +"Close to where we stood lay a Matuku, a young man who had been shot +through the fleshy part of the calf. It was a trifling wound, but it +prevented him from running away. + +"'Say, thou dog,' said Nala, stalking up to him and shaking his red +spear in his face, 'say, where is Wambe? Speak, or I slay thee. Was he +with the soldiers?' + +"'Nay, lord, I know not,' groaned the terrified man, 'he fought not +with us; Wambe has no stomach for fighting. Perchance he is in his +kraal yonder, or in the cave behind the kraal,' and he pointed to a +small enclosure on the hillside, about four hundred yards to the right +of where we were. + +"'Let us go and see,' said Nala, summoning his soldiers. + + + +VIII + +MAIWA IS AVENGED + +"The impi formed up; alas, an hour before it had been stronger by a +third than it was now. Then Nala detached two hundred men to collect +and attend to the injured, and at my suggestion issued a stringent +order that none of the enemy's wounded, and above all no women or +children, were to be killed, as is the savage custom among African +natives. On the contrary, they were to be allowed to send word to +their women that they might come in to nurse them and fear nothing, +for Nala made war upon Wambe the tyrant, and not on the Matuku tribe. + +"Then we started with some four hundred men for the chief's kraal. +Very soon we were there. It was, as I have said, placed against the +mountain side, but within the fortified lines, and did not at all +cover more than an acre and a half of ground. Outside was a tiny reed +fence, within which, neatly arranged in a semi-circular line, stood +the huts of the chief's principal wives. Maiwa of course knew every +inch of the kraal, for she had lived in it, and led us straight to the +entrance. We peeped through the gateway--not a soul was to be seen. +There were the huts and there was the clear open space floored with a +concrete of lime, on which the sun beat fiercely, but nobody could we +see or hear. + +"'The jackal has gone to earth,' said Maiwa; 'he will be in the cave +behind his hut,' and she pointed with her spear towards another small +and semi-circular enclosure, over which a large hut was visible, that +had the cliff itself for a background. I stared at this fence; by +George! it was true, it was entirely made of tusks of ivory planted in +the ground with their points bending outwards. The smallest ones, +though none were small, were placed nearest to the cliff on either +side, but they gradually increased in size till they culminated in two +enormous tusks, which, set up so that their points met, something in +the shape of an inverted V, formed the gateway to the hut. I was +dumbfoundered with delight; and indeed, where is the elephant-hunter +who would not be, if he suddenly saw five or six hundred picked tusks +set up in a row, and only waiting for him to take them away? Of course +the stuff was what is known as 'black' ivory; that is, the exterior of +the tusks had become black from years or perhaps centuries of exposure +to wind and weather, but I was certain that it would be none the worse +for that. Forgetting the danger of the deed, in my excitement I +actually ran right across the open space, and drawing my knife +scratched vigorously at one of the great tusks to see how deep the +damage might be. As I thought, it was nothing; there beneath the black +covering gleamed the pure white ivory. I could have capered for joy, +for I fear that I am very mercenary at heart, when suddenly I heard +the faint echo of a cry for assistance. 'Help!' screamed a voice in +the Sisutu dialect from somewhere behind the hut; 'help! they are +murdering me.' + +"/I knew the voice/; it was John Every's. Oh, what a selfish brute was +I! For the moment that miserable ivory had driven the recollection of +him out of my head, and now--perhaps it was too late. + +"Nala, Maiwa, and the soldiers had now come up. They too heard the +voice and interpreted its tone, though they had not caught the words. + +"'This way,' cried Maiwa, and we started at a run, passing round the +hut of Wambe. Behind was the narrow entrance to a cave. We rushed +through it heedless of the danger of the ambush, and this is what we +saw, though very confusedly at first, owing to the gloom. + +"In the centre of the cave, and with either end secured to the floor +by strong stakes, stood a huge double-springed lion trap edged with +sharp and grinning teeth. It was set, and beyond the trap, indeed +almost over it, a terrible struggle was in progress. A naked or almost +naked white man, with a great beard hanging down over his breast, in +spite of his furious struggles, was being slowly forced and dragged +towards the trap by six or eight women. Only one man was present, a +fat, cruel-looking man with small eyes and a hanging lip. It was the +chief Wambe, and he stood by the trap ready to force the victim down +upon it so soon as the women had dragged him into the necessary +position. + +"At this instant they caught sight of us, and there came a moment's +pause, and then, before I knew what she was going to do, Maiwa lifted +the assegai she still held, and whirled it at Wambe's head. I saw the +flash of light speed towards him, and so did he, for he stepped +backward to avoid it--stepped backward right into the trap. He yelled +with pain as the iron teeth of the 'Thing that bites' sprang up with a +rattling sound like living fangs and fastened into him--such a yell I +have not often heard. Now at last he tasted of the torture which he +had inflicted upon so many, and though I trust I am a Christian, I +cannot say that I felt sorry for him. + +"The assegai sped on and struck one of the women who had hold of the +unfortunate Every, piercing through her arm. This made her leave go, +an example that the other women quickly followed, so that Every fell +to the ground, where he lay gasping. + +"'Kill the witches,' roared Nala, in a voice of thunder, pointing to +the group of women. + +"'Nay,' gasped Every, 'spare them. He made them do it,' and he pointed +to the human fiend in the trap. Then Maiwa waved her hand to us to +fall back, for the moment of her vengeance was come. We did so, and +she strode up to her lord, and flinging the white robe from her stood +before him, her fierce beautiful face fixed like stone. + +"'Who am I?' she cried in so terrible a voice that he ceased his +yells. 'Am I that woman who was given to thee for wife, and whose +child thou slewest? Or am I an avenging spirit come to see thee die? + +"'What is this?' she went on, drawing the withered baby-hand from the +pouch at her side. + +"'Is it the hand of a babe? and how came that hand to be thus alone? +What cut it off from the babe? and where is the babe? Is it a hand? or +is it the vision of a hand that shall presently tear thy throat? + +"'Where are thy soldiers, Wambe? Do they sleep and eat and go forth to +do thy bidding? or are they perchance dead and scattered like the +winter leaves?' + +"He groaned and rolled his eyes while the fierce-faced woman went on. + +"'Art thou still a chief, Wambe? or does another take thy place and +power, and say, Lord, what doest thou there? and what is that slave's +leglet upon thy knee? + +"'Is it a dream, Wambe, great lord and chief? or'--and she lifted her +clenched hands and shook them in his face--'hath a woman's vengeance +found thee out and a woman's wit o'ermatched thy tyrannous strength? +and art thou about to slowly die in torments horrible to think on, oh, +thou accursed murderer of little children?' + +"And with one wild scream she dashed the dead hand of the child +straight into his face, and then fell senseless on the floor. As for +the demon in the trap, he shrank back so far as its iron bounds would +allow, his yellow eyes starting out of his head with pain and terror, +and then once more began to yell. + +"The scene was more than I could bear. + +"'Nala,' I said, 'this must stop. That man is a fiend, but he must not +be left to die there. See thou to it.' + +"'Nay," answered Nala, 'let him taste of the food wherewith he hath +fed so many; leave him till death shall find him.' + +"'That I will not,' I answered. 'Let his end be swift; see thou to +it.' + +"'As thou wilt, Macumazahn,' answered the chief, with a shrug of the +shoulders; 'first let the white man and Maiwa be brought forth.' + +"So the soldiers came forward and carried Every and the woman into the +open air. As the former was borne past his tormentor, the fallen +chief, so cowardly was his wicked heart, actually prayed him to +intercede for him, and save him from a fate which, but for our +providential appearance, would have been Every's own. + +"So we went away, and in another moment one of the biggest villains on +the earth troubled it no more. Once in the fresh air Every recovered +quickly. I looked at him, and horror and sorrow pierced me through to +see such a sight. His face was the face of a man of sixty, though he +was not yet forty, and his poor body was cut to pieces with stripes +and scars, and other marks of the torments which Wambe had for years +amused himself with inflicting on him. + +"As soon as he recovered himself a little he struggled on to his +knees, burst into a paroxysm of weeping, and clasping my legs with his +emaciated arms, would have actually kissed my feet. + +"'What are you about, old fellow?' I said, for I am not accustomed to +that sort of thing, and it made me feel uncomfortable. + +"'Oh, God bless you?' he moaned, 'God bless you! If only you knew what +I have gone through; and to think that you should have come to help +me, and at the risk of your own life! Well, you were always a true +friend--yes, yes, a true friend.' + +"'Bosh,' I answered testily; 'I'm a trader, and I came after that +ivory,' and I pointed to the stockade of tusks. 'Did you ever hear of +an elephant-hunter who would not have risked his immortal soul for +them, and much more his carcase?' + +"But he took no notice of my explanations, and went on God blessing me +as hard as ever, till at last I bethought me that a nip of brandy, of +which I had a flask full, might steady his nerves a bit. I gave it +him, and was not disappointed in the result, for he brisked up +wonderfully. Then I hunted about in Wambe's hut, and found a kaross to +put over his poor bruised shoulders, and he was quite a man again. + +"'Now,' I said, 'why did the late lamented Wambe want to put you in +that trap?' + +"'Because as soon as they heard that the fight was going against them, +and that Maiwa was charging at the head of Nala's impi, one of the +women told Wambe that she had seen me write something on some leaves +and give them to Maiwa before she went away to purify herself. Then of +course he guessed that I had to do with your seizing the koppie and +holding it while the impi rushed the place from the mountain, so he +determined to torture me to death before help could come. Oh, heavens! +what a mercy it is to hear English again.' + +"'How long have you been a prisoner here, Every?' I asked. + +"'Six years and a bit, Quatermain; I have lost count of the odd months +lately. I came up here with Major Aldey and three other gentlemen and +forty bearers. That devil Wambe ambushed us, and murdered the lot to +get their guns. They weren't much use to him when he got them, being +breech-loaders, for the fools fired away all the ammunition in a month +or two. However, they are all in good order, and hanging up in the hut +there. They didn't kill me because one of them saw me mending a gun +just before they attacked us, so they kept me as a kind of armourer. +Twice I tried to make a bolt of it, but was caught each time. Last +time Wambe had me flogged very nearly to death--you can see the scars +upon my back. Indeed I should have died if it hadn't been for the girl +Maiwa, who nursed me by stealth. He got that accursed lion trap among +our things also, and I suppose he has tortured between one and two +hundred people to death in it. It was his favourite amusement, and he +would go every day and sit and watch his victim till he died. +Sometimes he would give him food and water to keep him alive longer, +telling him or her that he would let him go if he lived till a certain +day. But he never did let them go. They all died there, and I could +show you their bones behind that rock.' + +"'The devil!' I said, grinding my teeth. 'I wish I hadn't interfered; +I wish I had left him to the same fate.' + +"'Well, he got a taste of it any way,' said Every; 'I'm glad he got a +taste. There's justice in it, and now he's gone to hell, and I hope +there is another one ready for him there. By Jove! I should like to +have the setting of it.' + +"And so he talked on, and I sat and listened to him, wondering how he +had kept his reason for so many years. But he didn't talk as I have +told it, in plain English. He spoke very slowly, and as though he had +got something in his mouth, continually using native words because the +English ones had slipped his memory. + +"At last Nala came up and told us that food was made ready, and +thankful enough we were to get it, I can tell you. After we had eaten +we held a consultation. Quite a thousand of Wambe's soldiers were put +/hors de combat/, but at least two thousand remained hidden in the +bush and rocks, and these men, together with those in the outlying +kraals, were a source of possible danger. The question arose, +therefore, what was to be done--were they to be followed or left +alone? I waited till everybody had spoken, some giving one opinion and +some another, and then being appealed to I gave mine. It was to the +effect that Nala should take a leaf out of the great Zulu T'Chaka's +book, and incorporate the tribe, not destroy it. We had a good many +women among the prisoners. Let them, I suggested, be sent to the +hiding-places of the soldiers and make an offer. If the men would come +and lay down their arms and declare allegiance to Nala, they and their +town and cattle should be spared. Wambe's cattle alone would be seized +as the prize of war. Moreover, Wambe having left no children, his wife +Maiwa should be declared chieftainess of the tribe, under Nala. If +they did not accept this offer by the morning of the second day it +should be taken as a declaration that they wished to continue the war. +Their town should be burned, their cattle, which our men were already +collecting and driving in in great numbers, would be taken, and they +should be hunted down. + +"This advice was at once declared to be wise, and acted on. The women +were despatched, and I saw from their faces that they never expected +to get such terms, and did not think that their mission would be in +vain. Nevertheless, we spent that afternoon in preparations against +possible surprise, and also in collecting all the wounded of both +parties into a hospital, which we extemporized out of some huts, and +there attending to them as best we could. + +"That evening Every had the first pipe of tobacco that he had tasted +for six years. Poor fellow, he nearly cried with joy over it. The +night passed without any sign of attack, and on the following morning +we began to see the effect of our message, for women, children, and a +few men came in in little knots, and took possession of their huts. It +was of course rather difficult to prevent our men from looting, and +generally going on as natives, and for the matter of that white men +too, are in the habit of doing after a victory. But one man who after +warning was caught maltreating a woman was brought out and killed by +Nala's order, and though there was a little grumbling, that put a stop +to further trouble. + +"On the second morning the head men and numbers of their followers +came in in groups, and about midday a deputation of the former +presented themselves before us without their weapons. They were +conquered, they said, and Wambe was dead, so they came to hear the +words of the great lion who had eaten them up, and of the crafty white +man, the jackal, who had dug a hole for them to fall in, and of Maiwa, +Lady of War, who had led the charge and turned the fate of the battle. + +"So we let them hear the words, and when we had done an old man rose +and said, that in the name of the people he accepted the yoke that was +laid upon their shoulders, and that the more gladly because even the +rule of a woman could not be worse than the rule of Wambe. Moreover, +they knew Maiwa, the Lady of War, and feared her not, though she was a +witch and terrible to see in battle. + +"Then Nala asked his daughter if she was willing to become +chieftainess of the tribe under him. + +"Maiwa, who had been very silent since her revenge was accomplished, +answered yes, that she was, and that her rule should be good and +gentle to those who were good and gentle to her, but the froward and +rebellious she would smite with a rod of iron; which from my knowledge +of her character I thought exceedingly probable. + +"The head man replied that that was a good saying, and they did not +complain at it, and so the meeting ended. + +"Next day we spent in preparations for departure. Mine consisted +chiefly in superintending the digging up of the stockade of ivory +tusks, which I did with the greatest satisfaction. There were some +five hundred of them altogether. I made inquiries about it from Every, +who told me that the stockade had been there so long that nobody +seemed to know exactly who had collected the tusks originally. There +was, however, a kind of superstitious feeling about them which had +always prevented the chiefs from trying to sell this great mass of +ivory. Every and I examined it carefully, and found that although it +was so old its quality was really as good as ever, and there was very +little soft ivory in the lot. At first I was rather afraid lest, now +that my services had been rendered, Nala should hesitate to part with +so much valuable property, but this was not the case. When I spoke to +him on the subject he merely said, 'Take it, Macumazahn, take it; you +have earned it well,' and, to speak the truth, though I say it who +shouldn't, I think I had. So we pressed several hundred Matuku bearers +into our service, and next day marched off with the lot. + +"Before we went I took a formal farewell of Maiwa, whom we left with a +bodyguard of three hundred men to assist her in settling the country. +She gave me her hand to kiss in a queenly sort of way, and then said, + +"'Macumazahn, you are a brave man, and have been a friend to me in my +need. If ever you want help or shelter, remember that Maiwa has a good +memory for friend and foe. All I have is yours. + +"And so I thanked her and went. She was certainly a very remarkable +woman. A year or two ago I heard that her father Nala was dead, and +that she had succeeded to the chieftainship of both tribes, which she +ruled with great justice and firmness. + +"I can assure you that we ascended the pass leading to Wambe's town +with feelings very different from those with which we had descended it +a few days before. But if I was grateful for the issue of events, you +can easily imagine what poor Every's feelings were. When we got to the +top of the pass, before the whole impi he actually flopped down upon +his knees and thanked Heaven for his escape, the tears running down +his face. But then, as I have said, his nerves were shaken--though now +that his beard was trimmed and he had some sort of clothes on his +back, and hope in his heart, he looked a very different man from the +poor wretch whom we had rescued from death by torture. + +"Well, we separated from Nala at the little stairway or pass over the +mountain--Every and I and the ivory going down the river which I had +come up a few weeks before, and the chief returning to his own kraal +on the further side of the mountain. He gave us an escort of a hundred +and fifty men, however, with instructions to accompany us for six +days' journey, and to keep the Matuku bearers in order and then +return. I knew that in six days we should be able to reach a district +where porters were plentiful, and whence we could easily get the ivory +conveyed to Delagoa Bay." + +"And did you land it up safe?" I asked. + +"Well no," said Quatermain, "we lost about a third of it in crossing a +river. A flood came down suddenly just as the men were crossing and +many of them had to throw down their tusks to save their lives. We had +no means of dragging it up, and so we were obliged to leave it, which +was very sad. However, we sold what remained for nearly seven thousand +pounds, so we did not do so badly. I don't mean that I got seven +thousand pounds out of it, because, you see, I insisted upon Every +taking a half share. Poor fellow, he had earned it, if ever a man did. +He set up a store in the old colony on the proceeds and did uncommonly +well." + +"And what did you do with the lion trap?" asked Sir Henry. + +"Oh, I brought that away with me also, and when I reached Durban I put +it in my house. But really I could not bear to sit opposite to it at +nights as I smoked. Visions of that poor woman and the hand of her +dead child would rise up in my mind, and also of all the horrors of +which it had been the instrument. I began to dream at last that it +held me by the leg. This was too much for my nerves, so I just packed +it up and shipped it to its maker in England, whose name was stamped +upon the steel, sending him a letter at the same time to tell him to +what purpose the infernal machine had been put. I believe that he gave +it to some museum or other." + +"And what became of the tusks of the three bulls which you shot! You +must have left them at Nala's kraal, I suppose." + +The old gentleman's face fell at this question. + +"Ah," he said, "that is a very sad story. Nala promised to send them +with my goods to my agent at Delagoa, and so he did. But the men who +brought them were unarmed, and, as it happened, they fell in with a +slave caravan under the command of a half-bred Portuguese, who seized +the tusks, and what is worse, swore that he had shot them. I paid him +out afterwards, however," he added with a smile of satisfaction, "but +it did not give me back my tusks, which no doubt have been turned into +hair brushes long ago;" and he sighed. + +"Well," said Good, "that is a capital yarn of yours, Quatermain, +but----" + +"But what?" he asked sharply, foreseeing a draw. + +"But I don't think that it was so good as mine about the ibex--it +hasn't the same /finish/." + +Mr. Quatermain made no reply. Good was beneath it. + +"Do you know, gentlemen," he said, "it is half-past two in the +morning, and if we are going to shoot the big wood to-morrow we ought +to leave here at nine-thirty sharp." + +"Oh, if you shoot for a hundred years you will never beat the record +of those three woodcocks," I said. + +"Or of those three elephants," added Sir Henry. + +And then we all went to bed, and I dreamed that I had married Maiwa, +and was much afraid of that attractive but determined lady. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of Maiwa's Revenge, by H. Rider Haggard + diff --git a/old/maiwa10.zip b/old/maiwa10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4adffc3 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/maiwa10.zip |