Off to the Wilds Part 33

An hour's tramp decided the point, Coffee and Chicory coming up with the wounded beast, defending itself with its horns against the attacks of the vultures that were collecting round and making furious darts at its eyes.

A merciful bullet ended the poor creature's miseries, and as the animal was so fine it was decided to load up with as much as they could conveniently carry, then place sticks about the carcase, and leave it to be fetched in by Peter and Dirk with a yoke of oxen.

All this was done, and they were about half-way back when, to their utter astonishment, a party of about half-a-dozen blacks, armed with a.s.segais and clubs, rushed out from behind some bushes, and began to advance with fierce and threatening gestures.

"I say, d.i.c.k, what's to be done?" said Jack. "Shall we throw down the meat and run away?"

"No," said d.i.c.k, who looked very pale.

"Shall we offer them our guns and ammunition if they will let us go?"

"No," replied d.i.c.k. "If we do that they will strip us to the skin."

"What shall we do then?"

"Show fight," said d.i.c.k. "I don't want to, but we must."

"But they are big fighting men, and we are only boys," said Jack.

"But we are English boys, and they are only savages," retorted d.i.c.k; "so come along."

Meanwhile the Matabele warriors--for such it afterwards proved they were--kept on advancing, shouting savagely, while Coffee and Chicory had been watching their masters attentively, waiting to see what course they would take.

They took their dues from the behaviour of the young Englishmen, and in place of cowering behind, they ran to the front, flouris.h.i.+ng their kiris, striking the ground with them, and shouting in their own tongue the while.

"Out of the way, black dogs!" cried Coffee. "Let my lords the big lion-killers with their wonder-guns, come by."

Feeling that they must put on a bold front, the two boys advanced with rifles ready; and, seeing this, and hearing the words of Coffee and Chicory, which they understood, the black warriors stopped short, spoke to one another for a few moments, and then, changing their tone, began to beg for some of the meat.

"Say they're very hungry. Want meat," said Chicory.

d.i.c.k spoke to Jack, and then told Coffee to be the interpreter of their wishes, explaining to him what to say.

Coffee jauntily flourished his kiri, and with a bold, defiant bearing, marched close up to the warriors, and showing them the scars made by the lion's claws, told them that they were made by the biggest lion in the world, and his young masters went and killed it with their wonder-guns.

"And now the young kings say you may go and eat the big eland they shot, and fill yourselves full."

The men set up a shout, flourished their weapons, and began to dance, after which they threw themselves upon the ground, as if they wanted to make themselves into black door-mats, d.i.c.k said; and ended by taking up and turning back on the little hunting-party's trail till they found the eland.

"Yes," said Mr Rogers, as they related their experience; "you were quite right. These people seem to me more like children than men, and a good bold front will generally make them respect the white man; especially, my boys, if he is firm and, above all, perfectly just."

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

THE VISIT TO THE BLACK KING.

The good dinner of eland, and the rest the oxen and horses had had amidst abundant gra.s.s and water, made all ready for the afternoon trek.

Several natives had been to the little camp; and as they would be expected at the king's town, the oxen were in-spanned, the horses mounted to make the party look imposing, and they moved off, keeping along the open ground about half a mile from the river's bank.

At the end of a few miles they came in sight of the town, a collection of thatched huts in the midst of some trees, evidently a sort of summer residence, for they could see on the right a couple of men, busily tying together the uprights to form a fresh hut.

There were plenty of people about, but no one seemed to take notice of their approach, till suddenly the firing of guns made all start and halt, so as to be prepared for attack.

The General, however, warned Mr Rogers that it was only friendly firing, for the king was evidently coming to meet them; and directly after there was a little procession seen to be on the way.

Under these circ.u.mstances Mr Rogers drew up his little force, every one being well armed, and with the horses that were not mounted held by the head.

Then they waited.

"Don't laugh, my boys," said Mr Rogers, as the procession drew nearer.

"He is a ruler over his people, so deserves respect. If you ridicule what will no doubt seem very absurd, we shall make an enemy instead of a friend."

"We'll try and behave rightly, father," said d.i.c.k quietly; and so both he and his brother did, but it was hard work.

His Majesty King Moseti, had evidently determined to impress the white men with a sense of his greatness; so he came attended by his band and body-guard, while he himself wore his regal robes, which consisted of an ordinary English Oxford-cut blue coat and waistcoat, with white flannel cricketing trousers, and a straw hat. He had on patent leather boots, and carried a handsome ebony walking-stick; but his majesty, probably on account of the heat of the climate, wore no s.h.i.+rt. He had, however, a couple of rows of common gla.s.s beads round his neck, walked with his left-hand in his pocket, and stared about him as if the visitors were not of the slightest consequence, so that his appearance was sufficiently imposing.

"Jist look at 'em now," said Dinny; "call themselves men, and to go about like that, widout a bit o' rag to their backs, and only a sc.r.a.p of a skin ap.r.o.n hanging before and behind. Oh, go along now wid ye, ye ought to be ashamed of yourselves."

"Hold your tongue, Dinny," cried Mr Rogers.

"Certainly, sor," said Dinny. "An' murther, hark at the music. Hadn't I better go and take the gun away from that naygur as keeps letting it off, sor? He'll be shuting some one directly."

"Well yes, Dinny," said his master, to Dinny's great astonishment; "go and take away his gun. We'll go on. Do you hear?"

"Shure, sor, he mightn't like it if I did," said Dinny.

"Then stop where you are, and don't brag," said Mr Rogers sharply.

"Hark at that now," muttered Dinny.

Meanwhile the king and his court was approaching, with one of the body-guard loading and firing an old musket in the air as fast as he could. In front came a couple of men, hugging what at first sight looked like cannons, but which proved to be drums, about four feet long, secured round their necks by a skin strap, and which drums they bestrode as they beat them with their hands.

Next came a couple more with evidently the kettle-drums, hung from their necks and beaten, like an Indian tom-tom, at both ends. Then the chief musician came with a large wooden harmonicon hung from his neck. This instrument, the marimba, he beat with a couple of round hammers, bringing forth a barbarous, modulated kind of music, not unlike that of the marrow-bones and cleavers of the London butcher-boys, as given by them on old-fas.h.i.+oned state occasions.

The instrument took d.i.c.k's attention a good deal, and he saw that it, and another in the band, were formed by fastening so many dry hollow gourds in a frame, over which were placed a graduated scale of pieces of hard wood, which emitted a musical metallic sound when struck.

There was another drummer, who worked hard to earn his salary, whatever it might be; and then came the body-guard, armed with axes, a.s.segais, and kiris, one and all looking, as Dinny said, as if they were the finest fellows under the sun.

"Shure, and I'd bate the whole lot wid one stick," he muttered; and then aloud,--

"Oh, the dirty haythen; what a noise to call music! Faix, I'd pay something if Teddy Flaherty was here to give 'em one lilt o' the pipes.

They'd know then what music was."

The marimba players beat their instruments more loudly as they approached the waggon, the drummers drubbed the skins of their drums, the man behind fired his gun, the horses snorted and grew uneasy, and Rough'un threw up his head and uttered a most dismal howl, tucked his tail between his legs, and ran off as hard as he could go; an example followed by Pompey, Caesar, and Cra.s.sus, as far as the howling was concerned, the chains by which they were secured to the waggon preventing any running away. They, however, made up for it by barking with all their might.

The king seemed to take it as a compliment, for he came up, shook hands, and condescended to drink a gla.s.s of wine, and to eat some sweet biscuits and sugar-sticks, speaking in pretty good English, which he had picked up from the missionaries, and ending by inviting Mr Rogers and his sons to dinner.