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Off to the Wilds, a fiction by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 44. Elephants In Sight |
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_ CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. ELEPHANTS IN SIGHT In spite of their searching, the baboons were not seen till camp was being moved again to cross the ridge and descend into the plain, when the vicious little animals made so desperate an attack upon the party, throwing stones with such accuracy, that they had to be treated to a volley, and then to a second, before the troop, quite a hundred strong, took to flight; and the dogs killed the wounded left upon the ground, but only at the expense of some vicious bites from the dying apes. They were fired at with no little compunction, for mingled with their dog-like aspect there was a great deal that was terribly human, and after shooting one of the largest and fiercest, Dick said he felt as if he had committed a murder. It was, however, a work of necessity, and nothing but a vigorous attack sufficed to drive the malicious little monsters away. "Anywhere near the Boer settlements these creatures do infinite mischief," Mr Rogers said, "watching for, and destroying the lambs to a terrible extent." Days of weary trekking across plains before they came into pool-strewn land, where the footprints of buffalo were here and there obliterated by the monstrous round track left by the elephant. And now for the last time before beginning the return journey they formed camp, and prepared for some of the most serious part of their hunt. The General said that the elephants must be plentiful, and promised to show them the next day; but the boys seemed hardly to have sunk into a profound slumber, when they were roused by Chicory to tell them that there were elephants in the open forest close at hand. The news was electrical, and in a very few minutes they were standing ready with their father; and strict silence being enjoined, they followed the Zulu warrior through the thin forest by the light of the moon, till, advancing very cautiously, the General made an observation or two, and then came back and led the little party to where they could peer from amidst the trees and dimly see, looming up from the edge of a great pool, the bodies of twenty or thirty elephants of all sizes, busily drawing up water in their trunks and squirting it into their mouths. This they continued for some time, grunting, snorting, and uttering a peculiar sigh now and then, when, to Dick's surprise, he suddenly seemed to see the huge bodies of the elephants more plainly, and knew that the day was breaking. There was one great beast standing not forty yards from him, swinging its trunk to and fro, and flapping its enormous leather-like ears against its neck; when, unable to resist the temptation, and without pausing to consider whether it was wise or no, he took a quick aim at the back of the huge creature's head; there was a flash, and as the report of Dick's piece rang out, a tremendous rush, and the elephant herd had gone thundering over the plain. But not all. The large tusker had fallen over upon its side by the pool, and on making a circuit so as to get at it from the side of the plain, Dick advanced to find that he had made a most fortunate shot, and as he drew near felt struck with wonderment at the huge proportions of his first elephant. After feasting their eyes, the party returned to camp for something substantial in the way of breakfast, made toothsome with guinea-fowl, of which they shot several; and directly after the General went off to chop out the splendid pair of tusks, Dinny accompanying him to have a look at the "ingy-rubber." This done, they started to follow up the trail of the elephants, for it was Jack's turn now, and his father wished to add a few tusks to the load of treasures in skins they were to take back. A long and wearisome following of the trail had no result, for it was evident that they had been so scared by the loss of their companion that they had gone straight off without pausing to feed, in search of safer ground. The heat was terrible, and at last they were compelled to halt beneath the shade of a clump of trees to rest and refresh. This was followed by a nap, and afterwards, they felt so disheartened and footsore that they decided to return. "Let's go back, father," Dick had said, "and come on to-morrow morning with the horses." "To be sure," said Jack. "We could canter straight here without loss of time." "What do you say, General?" asked Mr Rogers. "I say it would be wise," replied the Zulu. "The elephants leave their path behind them, and you can come up rested and ready to fire." Even without these remarks Mr Rogers would have returned, for the dread of over-fatiguing Dick, would have been quite sufficient to make him pause. The boy had altered wonderfully; but still there were limits to the fatigue he could bear. They went quietly back, then, as the sun was getting low, and contented themselves with a few shots at the guinea-fowl which came over by hundreds, on their way to particular spots to roost. Before daylight, though, the next morning, they were in the saddle, carrying with them provisions and water; and they were miles along the track before the sun showed, by a robe of orange and a crown of ruddy rays, that he was about to flood the earth once more with light. The consequence was that they reached the spot where they had left off tracking quite early in the morning, the General, Coffee, and Chicory, although they had run all the way, seeming to be as fresh as when they had started, and laughing at the idea of their feeling fatigue. Mr Rogers, however, decided that it would be better to proceed with judgment, so a second breakfast was eaten under the shade of the trees where they had rested on the previous day, there being a limpid pool of water close at hand. "That's the best way to carry food, Dick," said Jack, laughing. "I like to have mine in my inside pocket, where it isn't in the way;" and he laughed, as he took a great bite out of a piece of cake baked on an iron plate. "Ready, boys?" said Mr Rogers, just then. "Yes, father." "Mount then, and off." They were in their saddles on the instant, and made a fresh start, with the two Zulu boys following the track at a run, till, the sun, growing exceeding hot, a fresh halt was made, but not until the General had declared from sundry signs he saw that the elephants had been going leisurely now, and that he did not think that they were many miles ahead. The boys were for immediate pursuit, but common sense suggested a wait, for a pleasant grove was found close to where the forest seemed to commence in a very dense thicket, and here a good halt was made. The sun poured down here with greater violence than they had felt before, and after lightening their load once more by reducing their stock of provisions, in spite of their efforts such a drowsiness set in that in a very short time the whole party were asleep. Dick was awakened by Coffee laying his hand upon his mouth and shaking him, whispering the word "Elephant!" in his ear, as he opened his eyes; while at the same time, Chicory and the General were performing the like duty for Jack and his father. Obeying the advice of the General, they all stole off cautiously towards the dense thicket close at hand, from which came the noise of breaking branches, and strange snorts and sighs mingled with the squirting and splashing of water. In a few words the General explained that the elephants had returned upon their track to the forest in front, and upon cautiously creeping from bush to bush to stalk them, each of the party under the guidance of a Zulu, they found that the dense thicket was a mere band, and that all beyond it was open park-like land, with several pools scattered about, in which the elephants were standing, splashing the water, sucking it up and squirting it over their dark skins, uttering a low sigh of satisfaction from time to time. Dick was in an unlucky position, for, while both his father and Jack were so placed as to get an easy shot at an elephant, he could only fire at long range. This, however, he decided to do as soon as his father and brother had had a shot. Meanwhile Mr Rogers had marked out for himself a fine young elephant with moderate tusks. There was one with bigger tusks behind, but not being armed with an elephant gun he felt that it would be better to make sure of the smaller one than risk the loss of all; so approaching cautiously he did not perceive that the ground before him was swampy, and fell headlong in the mud and water. He lay perfectly still, though, and fortunately--unfortunately for him-- the herd did not take flight, but attributing the noise to one of their fellows, they went on splashing and cooling their sides, breaking off boughs to tuck into their capacious mouths, writhing and twisting their probosces about the while. After a few moments Dick saw his father rise, walk forward to the side of some bushes, take aim at the elephant he had marked down, and just as it was passing along towards one of the pools he fired. The piece made such a strange noise that it alarmed Jack and the General. As for Dick, to his horror he saw the rifle fly to pieces, and his father fall backwards upon the grass. Dick took no notice of the elephants, which went crashing amongst the trees, Jack getting a bullet home as they broke towards Dick, nearly trampling him down in their course as he ran to his father's side. To his horror Mr Rogers was insensible, surrounded by the fragments of his shattered gun, his face bleeding profusely, and for the moment Dick was ready to stand there wringing his hands. But common sense prevailed. There was no running into the next street to fetch a doctor, so he hastily knelt down, and began to pour the contents of his bottle upon his handkerchief, washing away the blood, and bandaging up the cuts upon his father's forehead. This cooling application of water had the effect of making the injured man open his eyes, and reply to the eager inquiries of his sons. "Only a bit stunned, my boys, and a few cuts," he said. "It is a mercy I was not killed." "What a bad rifle!" exclaimed Jack indignantly, as he helped his father to rise. "What a bad sportsman, you should say, my boy," replied his father, whose face now looked less pallid. "I ought to have known better. My rifle must have been plugged with mud from my fall, and I did not examine it first. That would burst the best gun ever made." He found he could walk without assistance, and after kneeling down by a pool that had been left unsullied by the elephants, and having a good drink and bathe at his wounds, he rose up refreshed, and turned with the boys to see what was the result of their shots. Better than they had expected. Two elephants were badly wounded, and Chicory had marked them down in a clump of trees half a mile away. It required caution now to approach them, for the beasts would probably be furious; but by skilful management they were staked, and the boys, after two or three shots a-piece, succeeded in laying the monsters low, each falling over upon its side with a terrible crash. The General soon hacked out the good-sized tusks, and these were borne to the grove where the horses had been left to graze. "It never rains but it pours," said Mr Rogers quietly, as he slapped the flanks and neck of his horse rapidly. "Quick, boys, look at your own, and if they have nothing on them--no little flies something like house flies--take a tusk each, and ride back along the track as quick as you can go." The boys eagerly obeyed, and seeing no trace of flies, mounted, each with a tusk before him, and cantered away, Mr Rogers following more slowly with the bay and the Zulus--for the mischief was done; the terrible tsetse fly had attacked the fine old horse, and it was only a question of days or weeks before the poison would have finished its work. As it proved the two cobs had escaped almost by a miracle; but the adventure was a warning to the party not to venture further, for they had evidently made their way into a part of the country where this terrible enemy to horses abounds. _ |
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