Perils in the Transvaal and Zululand Part 24

There was a further pause, and then Vander Heyden again spoke. "Having told you this, I have no hesitation in asking your help in the present condition of things. This man Cargill, or Bostock, or whatever he may choose to call himself, does not pursue us in this manner only because he bears me a deadly hate. He has an equally deadly pa.s.sion for Annchen. I had no idea till last night of the length to which he had gone. Even on board the s.h.i.+p, he had the insolence to speak to her. On the day when we left the Cape he contrived to find her alone, and warn her that there would probably be mutiny and danger to the captain and officers and pa.s.sengers, but she might trust to him to preserve her from all harm."

"Why did not Miss Vander Heyden warn you?" exclaimed Rivers, greatly startled.

"He timed it well. It was only just before the s.h.i.+p struck. Moritz and I were asleep in our cabin, and the captain was asleep in his also. He knew that there would be no possibility of warning us. Again, as I learn, while she was at the Swedish pastor's house, just after our encounter on the banks of the Blood river, she received a letter which he contrived to have handed to her, telling her of his unaltered affection, and that he was still resolved she should be his. I learn that he was seen in Luneberg making inquiries as to the route we were to pursue, accompanied by some of the mutineers and one or two other notorious ruffians. There is, I am afraid, no doubt that some attempt will be made to carry her off during this journey to Zeerust."

"It sounds like it, I fear," said Rivers. "Well, Mr Vander Heyden, you may command my services to the utmost in averting so dreadful a calamity."

"I thank you; I knew I might reckon on your generous help. I think, if we can reach Standerton in safety, as with great exertion may be done to-morrow, we may engage more men to accompany us. Our party may be made so numerous, that Cargill will not venture on any violence. We are at present ten in number, but two or three of them cannot be relied on.

If we could engage five or six stout fellows, and arm them well with rifles and revolvers, they would not dare to attack us. I propose to have a watch kept throughout the night, as well as two or three men riding always in advance, and they may follow in our rear by day."

"I think you could not do more wisely," said George; "and until we reach Standerton we will undertake the duty ourselves. Margetts and I will keep one watch, you and Hardy another, and Matamo and Haxo the third.

And the same with the parties in advance and in the rear."

"I thank you heartily," said Vander Heyden. "I will speak to Mr Hardy and the two servants, if you will do so to Mr Margetts."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

The dawn was only just beginning to dapple the skies, when the voice of Henryk Vander Heyden was heard rousing his Hottentots and superintending the inspanning of the oxen and the saddling of the horses. The sun was hardly above the horizon before the party had set out, Vander Heyden and Hardy riding two or three hundred yards in advance with their guns and revolvers loaded, keeping a keen lookout as they advanced, and two of the Hottentot servants following in the same manner in the rear. In this manner they advanced for three hours or so, through a country resembling in character that which they had pa.s.sed yesterday, with the difference that the ground was harder and drier, so that the progress of the waggons was less interrupted. About nine o'clock they halted for the first meal of the day on the edge of a dense ma.s.s of shrubs and underwood, through which nothing but the woodman's axe or a herd of elephants could have forced their way. Here occurred an incident which was remembered by one of the party, at all events, long afterwards.

Redgy Margetts had alighted, and was about to take his place at the breakfast table, if the rough boards taken from the cart, on which the viands were spread, could be so designated, when he saw what he took to be the end of a long green plantain among the stems of the cacti. They are very delicious eating; and, thinking to add to the attractions of the meal, he took hold of one end to draw it out. To his surprise and alarm, he felt it move and writhe in his grasp, and the next moment a hideous green head made its appearance from the bushes, and would have sprung on him, if Matamo, who was calling out to Margetts to warn him, had not dexterously flung the large knife which he was holding in his hand, wounding the snake in the neck and disconcerting its aim. It missed Redgy's face, at which it had darted, and fell on the ground close to him, and Haxo, who had caught up an axe, struck its head off.

"A lucky escape, Mr Margetts," said Matamo. "A big mamba, that; he is seven or eight feet long. I never saw a bigger."

"The brute?" exclaimed Redgy. "I took him for a big cuc.u.mber, or something of that kind. Is he poisonous, Matamo?"

"Yes, Mr Redgy, very poisonous. A man, if he was bit by him, would die in an hour, perhaps in less. I've known one die in three-quarters of an hour."

"You must be careful, Mr Margetts," said Annchen, who had witnessed what had pa.s.sed with a shudder of horror. "I have been learning a good deal about the African snakes. They are the worst things in the country. We newcomers cannot be too careful."

"You are right, miss," said Matamo. "Some of them look like sticks or green stalks or stems of trees lying on the ground. Strangers sometimes don't find out that they are snakes, till they are bitten."

"But, as a rule, they won't harm you unless you provoke them," said Vander Heyden. "They have the cobra in India as well as here. In which country do you think it is the most venomous, Hardy?"

"It is bad enough anywhere," answered Hardy; "but I think it is worst in India. Its venom is very rapid in its action there. I remember Captain Winter's Hindoo cook being bitten by one. She used to keep her money in a hen's nest near the kitchen door. One night she heard a noise in the nest, and thought some one was stealing her money. She crept down in the dark and put her hand into the nest to feel if the money was safe.

The noise had been caused by a cobra which had crept in to eat the chickens. It bit her, and she was dead in less than half an hour."

"Yes, no doubt it was in a state of great irritation, and the bite unusually venomous," observed Vander Heyden; "but I consider both the puff-adder and the cerastes to be quite as dangerous as the cobra, and the mamba yonder is almost as bad as any. But with proper care there is not much danger. If they do bite you, as a rule, the only thing to be done is to cut or burn the flesh out."

The meal was now eaten, and the waggons were soon once more in motion, the same precautions being observed during the remainder of the day. No enemies, however, were sighted, or, indeed, any living creatures at all, except some koodoos, which Haxo and George pursued and were fortunate enough to overtake, killing one and bringing the prime parts home for supper.

About five o'clock they reached Elandsberg; which had never been more than a tolerable-sized village, and had been sacked and burned by the Zulus some months before in one of their incursions. It was now deserted; and it was fortunate that the koodoo had been killed, or the party might have had but a slender supper to partake of. But as it was, they soon made themselves comfortable. All the cottages had been wrecked, and the furniture broken to pieces or carried off; but the walls of some were still standing, and one of the largest--a farmhouse apparently--had suffered less than the others. The roof, of corrugated iron, over two of the rooms was still almost whole, and even the windows of one, the princ.i.p.al bedroom, had escaped. This room was got ready for Annchen and her Hottentot. Her bed and box were brought in, and a rug spread on the floor for the servant. In the other room, which had been the kitchen, the men of the party took up their quarters. A fire was lighted on the hearth, at which the koodoo's flesh was roasted; a half shattered table was rescued from the debris outside and propped up with boxes, and the party presently sat down to an appetising supper. Two of the servants were left to keep guard outside, their places being taken by others at midnight. Then the rest of the company wrapped themselves in their rugs and lay down round the fire.

The night was undisturbed, and the route resumed with the first glimmer of daylight, Vander Heyden being particularly anxious to reach Standerton that night; where, he believed, his anxieties would be at an end. It was a most delicious day, and everything went smoothly until after the halt for the mid-day meal. Then it was arranged that Margetts and Haxo should form the advanced guard, while Matamo and Hardy followed in the rear.

Redgy rode on, thoroughly enjoying the delicious afternoon. The sky was beautifully blue, and for a long time not flecked by a single cloud.

"How lovely the afternoon is!" he exclaimed half to himself, as they paced leisurely along. "I wish our halting-place was farther off. I shall be quite sorry when this comes to an end."

"It is quite far enough off, sir," replied Haxo, to whom this remark appeared to be addressed. "It is about half a mile on, and I wish it wasn't a quarter."

"Why do you wish that, Haxo?" asked Redgy, turning in surprise to his companion, whose presence he had almost forgotten.

"Because the river is between us and Dolly's Kop, sir," answered Haxo; "and I am not sure whether the waggon will get across."

"Get across! Why not? I suppose it is like the other rivers we have pa.s.sed to-day,--so I understand at least. We have had no difficulty about crossing them."

"Just so, Mr Margetts. The rivers about here are nearly all sand, with just a little water. But after an hour's rain they look different."

"Rain! Yes, but we've had no rain."

"We are going to have it, though, and that pretty soon. Do you see those clouds?" He pointed as he spoke to a thick bank of black vapour which was creeping over the sky. "See, they're hurrying on the oxen as fast as they can. They may get across, but I don't think it."

They turned round and rode up to the waggon, where, indeed, the giraffe-hide whips were in full requisition, and the waggons proceeded at a pace which would soon have brought them up to the river-side had it continued. But they were presently obliged to moderate their pace, and before long it became difficult to proceed. The sky grew so dark as almost to obscure the track--indeed, but for the lightning, which repeatedly burst forth with a vividness which illuminated the whole scene, they would not have been able to distinguish their way at all.

Then there came a cold, biting rush of wind, and suddenly the rain burst forth in torrents, which soon drenched every one to the skin, while the animals became almost unmanageable. It was well they had experienced drivers, or some serious disaster must have ensued.

At length, after a fierce struggle with the elements, the banks of the river were reached. But it became evident at a glance that all hope of crossing it must for a long time to come be abandoned. The narrow streamlet had risen to a roaring torrent, not only filling its sandy bed, but expanding into wide lagoons on either side, and filling up hollows which in some places were fifteen or twenty feet deep.

Fortunately for the belated wanderers, the ground at the point which they had reached was high and rocky; and they were glad to avail themselves of Matamo's local knowledge, who ordered the oxen to be turned aside from the track, and presently drew the waggons into a cavern, running far enough back into the rock to afford a shelter from both wind and rain. The horses were now stabled in an adjoining cavern, and the oxen turned out to find what food they could. The condition of the party was in some degree improved. But they were sufficiently miserable nevertheless. The deluge of rain had not only soaked the men to the skin, but had forced its way into the waggons, and Annchen and her maid, and the beds and wraps and every other article inside, except the solid chests, were as completely drenched as though they had been plunged into the river. Some wood, with which the floor of the cave had been strewn, was heaped together and a fire lighted, but it would evidently be hours before anything like warmth or comfort could be restored. Our travellers were greatly relieved when they saw a horseman, wearing a heavily flapped hat and leggings and boots of untanned leather, together with a thick cloak wrapped round his person, suddenly draw up at the mouth of the cave and ask in intelligible English who they were, and whether they required any help.

"We are mostly English travellers," replied George. "We have been caught in the storm, and are almost wet to the skin. The lady who is with us, in particular, may suffer from the effects of the exposure. We should be thankful to you to show us any place where we can obtain warmth and food and shelter."

"Englis.h.!.+" repeated the stranger; "my countrymen. I do not often come across them in these regions, and shall be pleased to offer them such hospitality as I can. You have horses, I think; you had better mount and ride with me. My house lies at the distance of about a mile from here, though the wood lies between it and us."

All complied without hesitation; even Vander Heyden, though unwilling to be indebted for any services to an Englishman, felt that, for his sister's sake, it would be impossible for him to refuse. The servants were left behind under Matamo's and Haxo's charge, there being plenty of food for their wants, as well as accommodation quite as good as they were used to.

The party rode off, following a path evidently well known to their conductor, though indistinguishable by them. The rain had now entirely ceased, though the sky was still clouded. After a quarter of an hour's ride they reached the house; which stood, as well as they could discern, on the edge of a wide, deep hollow, which the floods had converted for the time into an inland lake. There was light enough to distinguish clearly the outlines of the building. It was externally like the houses of the Dutch; but the internal arrangements were different. The kitchen was at one end, and there was a sitting-room adjoining it, and two or three separate bedrooms at the other end. The furniture, too, was different, the articles being less ma.s.sive and solid than is usually the case with the Boers. There was even a bookcase in the parlour, containing it might be thirty or forty books, articles rarely to be seen in the houses of the Dutch.

Annchen was immediately shown to one of the spare bedrooms, and some clothes brought her by one of the Hottentot women, while her own were taken out to be dried. The males of the party were similarly accommodated, and in an hour's time all the travellers were a.s.sembled round the stranger's board, with the exception of Vander Heyden, who, having seen his sister made comfortable, took a courteous farewell of his host, and expressed his intention of returning to the cavern, not considering it safe, he said, to leave the waggons and cattle entirely in charge of the natives.

"You may be right, sir," said the Englishman. "Natives, unless you have had long experience of them, cannot safely be left in charge of valuable property. More particularly is that the case at the present time."

"Indeed!" said Vander Heyden, delaying his departure as he heard his host's words. "To what do you more particularly refer?"

"The whole country has been for a long time past overrun with ruffians and outlaws of every description," was the answer. "Zulus and Kaffirs, whom the recent war has driven out of their own country; Hottentots, who will not work, and live by pillage and pilfering; rogues from the diamond fields, who have been expelled for their knavish tricks, as well as convicts, who have broken loose from their confinement, have for years past formed a sort of banditti, against which one has perpetually to be on one's guard. After the annexation, our Government almost entirely put them down; but the events of the last half-year have renewed the mischief almost as bad as ever. I have no doubt, however, that now that the struggle has come to an end, quiet and security of life and property will be reestablished. But you need not be afraid, I think, for your waggons. You do not seem to be aware that a bridge over the river has been recently made, and there is a good road from it all the way to Standerton. I shall be pleased to show it to you to-morrow.

It is one of the boons for which we have to thank the English Government."

Vander Heyden made no reply, but once more bowed and took his leave.

Rivers and Hardy looked at one another and smiled.

"What a pity it is that he dislikes the English so!" said the latter.

"He really is a fine fellow--brave and generous and honest, and full of kindness to every one, except an Englishman."

"We ought to feel it all the more a compliment that he is so civil to us. I suppose there must have been some very great wrong done to his father by our countrymen," said George.

"To his grandfather first, and then to his father," said Hardy. "His grandfather was one of those who rebelled when they found that the country had been permanently handed over to the English after the fall of Napoleon. He was taken prisoner with arms in his hands, and was hanged like any highwayman. His son migrated to Natal, and was again driven out by the English, when they annexed the colony. Proceedings were taken against him which were extremely harsh, and he died, as I have heard, of a broken heart. His son, our friend Henryk, got together all he could of his father's property, and withdrew into the Transvaal; where he bought a farm, but left it in charge of an agent, while he himself served in the Dutch army for several years. The annexation of the country by the English, three or four years ago, was the last drop in the cup of his indignation. He had returned to the Transvaal, having become wealthy again, partly by his deputy's successful farming, partly through money left him by his uncle, Van Courtlandt. He went again to Europe, to try if he could not procure the repeal of the Act of Annexation. He has come back now, bitterly disappointed at his failure.

It is no wonder, I must say, that he cannot endure the English."

The host now informed them that supper was ready, and they took their places at the table. After the meal Annchen withdrew for the night, and the rest of the party, gathering round the hearth, for the rain and wind had made the air chilly, smoked their pipes and drank their host's Schiedam at their ease.

"If you would excuse my curiosity, sir," said Hardy after a while, "I should like to know what brought you into these parts. You are, I think you said, an Englishman. But--"