A Dash from Diamond City Part 45

"Then we'll turn due north, and travel that way till to-morrow night, and see what that brings forth."

Starting off again, they journeyed on, sometimes at a walk, sometimes at an easy canter, so as to save the horses as much as possible, while the Kaffir kept up, seeming not in the slightest degree distressed, but ready to enter into conversation at any time, after changing from one side to the other so as to hold on by a different hand.

"Soon be daylight now," said West; "but I hope this fellow does not expect to keep on with us, does he?"

"Oh no, I don't think so for a moment. We'll pull up before sunrise at some sheltered place and have a good look-out for danger before letting the ponies graze and having breakfast. Let's see what happens then!"

But the sun was well up before a suitable kopje came in sight, one so small that it did not appear likely to contain enemies, but sufficiently elevated to give an observer a good view for miles through the clear veldt air.

"Looks safe!" said Ingleborough; "but burnt English children fear the Boer fire. Let's have a good circle round."

This was begun, and the black instantly grasped what was intended, and hanging well down from West's stirrup-leather, he began to search the ground carefully for tracks, looking up from time to time and pointing out those of antelopes, lions, and ostriches, but never the hoof of horse or the footprint of man.

"No Boer there!" he said. "No one come. Good water," he continued, pointing to the slight tracts of gra.s.s which had sprung up where a stream rising among the rocks was losing itself in the dry soil, but which looked brighter and greener as it was nearer to the kopje, which was fairly furnished with thorn-bush and decent-sized trees.

"Any Boers hiding there?" said West sharply.

"Boers ride there on ponies!" replied the Kaffir decisively, as he pointed down at the drab dust. "No ponies make marks."

"That's enough," said Ingleborough. "Come along."

Without hesitation now they put their mounts to a canter, rode up to the pleasant refres.h.i.+ng-looking place, and after leaving the ponies with the Kaffir and climbing to one of the highest points, took a good look round. This proved that there was not a mounted man in sight, and they descended to select a spot where there was plenty of herbage and water for their steeds, when they sat down and began to breakfast.

"Nothing like a fine appet.i.te," said West, after they had been eating for some little time; "but this biltong is rather like eating a leg of mahogany dining-table into which a good deal of salt gravy and furniture oil has been allowed to soak."

"Yes, it is rather wooden," said Ingleborough coolly. "Must wear out a man's teeth a good deal."

"Eland," said the Kaffir, tapping his stick of the dried meat on seeing his companions examining and smelling the food. "Old baas shoot eland, Olebo cut him up and dry him in the sun. Good."

"Well, it isn't bad, O child of nature! But I say, how far do you mean to come with us?"

"No go any more," replied the man. "Go Olebo kraal, see wife. Give her big s.h.i.+lling and little yellow s.h.i.+lling.--Good?"

He brought out the sovereign from where it had been placed, and held it up.

"Good? Yes," said West, and he set to work to try and explain by making the black bring out a florin and then holding up his outspread ten fingers, when the man seemed to have some idea of his meaning.

"Look here, I'll get it into his benighted intellect; but I should have thought that he would have known what a sovereign was worth."

Just then the Kaffir nodded sharply, after examining the coin.

"Gold?" he said, in Dutch.

"Of course," said Ingleborough, taking out a sovereign and ten more florins, which he placed in a heap and at a short distance from the little pile he laid down the sovereign. "Look here, Olebo," he said, taking up the ten florins. "Buy four blankets!"

The Kaffir nodded, and his instructor replaced the heavy coins in his pocket to take up the sovereign.

"Now, see here," said Ingleborough, holding it out. "Buy four blankets."

"Ah!" cried the delighted black, s.n.a.t.c.hing out his own treasured coins, the gold in one hand, the silver in the other. "Buy four blankets for Olebo wife," he cried, holding forward the silver. Then putting it behind him he held out the sovereign: "Buy four blankets for Olebo."

"Now we've got it," cried West, laughing, and watching the way in which the black hid his cash away. "I say," he continued, to his companion, speaking in English, "where does he put that money to keep it safe?"

"I dunno," said Ingleborough. "It seems to come natural to these Kaffirs to hide away their treasures cunningly. See how artful they are over the diamonds! He doesn't put the cash in his trousers pockets, nor yet in his waistcoat, nor yet his coat, because he has neither one nor the other. I expect he has a little snake-skin bag somewhere inside his leather-loincloth. But here, I'm thirsty; let's have some water!"

As he spoke Ingleborough sprang up and walked towards the head of the spruit, followed by his companions, and they pa.s.sed the two ponies, which were hard at work on the rich green herbage along the border of the stream. Then, getting well ahead of them, all lay down and thoroughly quenched their thirst.

"Now," said West, "what next? We ought to go on at once," and he unconsciously laid his hand upon the spot where the despatch was hidden.

"No," replied Ingleborough, "that won't do. We seem safe here, and we must hasten slowly. We're ready enough to go on, but the ponies must be properly nursed. They want more gra.s.s and a rest."

"The sun is getting hot too," said West, in acknowledgment of his comrade's words of wisdom.

"We'll stop till evening, lad," continued Ingleborough, "and take it in turn to sleep in the shade of those bushes if we can find a soft spot.

We had no rest last night."

"I suppose that must be it," replied West, and he joined in a sigh on finding a satisfactory spot beneath a ma.s.s of granite from which overhung a quant.i.ty of thorn-bush and creeper which formed an impenetrable shade.

The black followed them, noting keenly every movement and trying hard to gather the meaning of the English words.

"Two baas lie down long time, go to sleep," he said at last, in broken Dutch. "Olebo sit and look, see if Boer come. See Boer, make baas wake up."

"No," said West; "you two lie down and sleep. I'll take the first watch."

Ingleborough made no opposition, and after West had climbed up to a spot beneath a tree from which he could get a good stretch of the veldt in view, the others lay down at once and did not stir a limb till West stepped down to them, when the Kaffir sprang up without awakening Ingleborough.

"Olebo look for Boers now," he said.

West hesitated, and the Kaffir grasped the meaning of his silence.

"Olebo come and tell baas when big old baas go to fetch Boers," he said.

"So you did," cried the young Englishman warmly, "and I'll trust you now. Mind the ponies don't stray away."

The black showed his beautiful, white teeth in a happy satisfied laugh.

"Too much gra.s.s, too much nice water," he said. "Basuto pony don't go away from baas only to find gra.s.s."

"You're right!" said West. "Wait till the sun is there!" he continued, pointing to where it would be about two hours after mid-day, "and then wake the other baas."

The Kaffir nodded, and West lay down to rest, as he put it to himself, for he was convinced that he would be unable to sleep; but he had not lain back five minutes, gazing at the sunlit rivulet and the ponies grazing, before his lids closed and all was nothingness till he was roused by a touch from Ingleborough.

The sun was just dipping like a huge orange ball in the vermilion and golden west.

"Had a good nap, old fellow?"

"Oh, it's wonderful!" said the young man, springing up. "I don't seem to have been asleep five minutes."