Part 13 (2/2)

In this matter they were, it must be confessed, actuated by sound instinctive considerations; it was the subsequent discovery of gold that caused their sad deterioration 'Ntshi+ndeen, as always ood friend but who often had to be away fro to beware of the boys, as they did not like me This dislike was shown mainly in a petty persecution ofremarks were often made I felt I had outstayed ly, one s, distributed the re the old woman who used to lick my palm an extra allowance bade farewell toboys several of them almost men in stature surrounded my little party All these boys had sticks; several carried assegais Just below the kraal, on the steep hillside, was a fence with an open gap; through this I had to pass The boys ran forward and collected just beyond the gap A nuether, about a hundred yards away It was abundantly clear that trouble was co

Several boys collected behind h first They went in fear and tre; I followed ih the gap a big boy sprang forward and seized his swag I at once struck the assailant a sun He fell headlong a his companions I then, with deliberation, cocked both barrels, walked slowly forward, and told the Bapedi to follow The boys opened a passage through their ranks and we passed through Then theby this, ran down the hillside after us, brandishi+ng their sticks One poised his assegai, as though he were about to throw it, but I leveled un at him and he swerved I then turned, and ent on without furtherti the kraals

I believe that on this occasion h I do not think any harm was intended to me, personally A few months afterwards a prospector named Coffin was in the same vicinity His two boys, also Bapedi, were killed in his presence

I had for soht headache, so strongly suspected that I had contracted fever It took et back to the Crocodile River I arrived there after dusk, and shouted for the raft MacLean and the Pessimist soon paddled across The latter was, I a turned up During supper, while I was relating my experiences, the Pessimist interjected the remark that I was a liar After a more or less drawn battle, MacLean and Niekerk restored peace, so that both supper and narrative were finished without further interruption But Niekerk, who had been unable to understand the words which gave rise to the disturbance, was confirlish

Our little patrol tent stood about ten yards fro black rhinoceros stood grunting and sniffing in the space between The barrel of Niekerk's rifle protruded slowly fro of the bullet it swung round and went off at a gallop along the river bank Rhino could not have been much hurt, for his spoor was to be seen a few days afterwards fifteenanimal Game was now scarce, so Niekerk decided to shi+ft his quarters

As we had done no prospecting to speak of, it was decided to explore the Crocodile Valley, in the direction of the ly onceits southern bank, panning as ent ”Color” was to be found everywhere, but no sign of ”pay” On the secondwe had an unpleasant surprise; the Bapedi had bolted during the night They had taken nothing of our belongings I was very wrathful; but tis perspective; today I a out They had been terribly frightened in Swaziland, and e again crossed the river theyback

In sadness we sorted our belongings, selecting the indispensable and the more valuable; we cached the remainder in a krantz cleft I wonder if it is still where we hid it? Then, the flood having so the river bank until we found a fordable spot Here we crossed and, feeling riled on we tried to coeance which ould wreak on Indogozan and his coht them However, catch them we never did

It now became quite clear that I had contracted fever Headache, dizziness, internal pains, and deadly weakness had ot on my nerves, and became the terror of my life The country was full of these birds, which were very ta scream of a covey, when it flushed around me, almost caused distraction On such occasions I have often dropped flat in enerally enerally feels either worse or better than he really is

Eventually, however, by hook or by crook, I got back to Mac Mac

MacLean went on to Pilgrim's Rest I collapsed, and lay in my patrol tent, alone and untended, for several days Then Mr (afterwards Sir Drummond) Dunbar and his kind wife look h as nails The attack proved to be a coh

CHAPTER XI

Weakness after fever--I engage in commerce--Bats--The commandeered cat--My commercial ineptitude--Tom Simpson surprises--Wolff--Close ofof the bullies--Gardiner holds up the bank--Nickna a patent of nobility--”Old Nelly”--”A poor man's lead”--”Charlie Brown's Gully”--Swindled by my partner--My discovery on thefor rain--Disappointment and despair--Abandonment offrom my bout of fever I felt terribly weak I was kindly looked after for a feeeks by some friends, but it was imperatively necessary that I should, at the earliest possible date, once in to earn a livelihood I was now absolutely penniless Manual labor was, for the time, quite out of the question The least physical exertion,down, caused a sickening sense of dizziness and loss of vision For some little time I resembled one of those dolls whose eyes disappear when placed in any but an upright position

A Natal firm, R T N James & Co, had a store on top of the steep hill, just where the up-creek road left the Lower Caer, was a friend ofpity on my condition, offered me work in the shop I jurim's Rest The path, which could only be traversed on foot, led over the big divide, and involved a heavy climb, followed by a steep descent I took all day for the journey of nine miles It necessitated a terrible effort Fortunately, however, the day was cool Several tied to lie down Strangely enough, it was the descent that I foundthan the climb The tendons just above h weakness, and refused to act as a brake I shall never forget that walk

The business was a general one in the roceries, drapery, hardware, butcher's e one of galvanized iron It stood on one side of the road, Mr Shepperd's dwelling-house was on the other The store was overrun with rats I had to sleep on the counter, and the beastly ver

Often they awokeacross my face I dreaded those rats more than ever I did the lions hi the Low Country

A friend, hearing of ht it to ht That Eastern potentate we all have read of in our childhood was not ton than I was to this benefactor The shop was closed at 11 p every place of exit, I let the cat out of the bag Although very wild and fierce, after the long ih journey, it soon settled down to work

That night was one of great enjoyment both to the cat and to el preying on the Hosts of Midian which had so grievously tor rats lay dead all over the shop, each with its head bitten off The cat showed signs of scandalous repletion, but it, nevertheless, fought the good fight all through Sunday It cah I had known it from kittenhood It never made the least attempt to escape Soon there was not a rat or a mouse on the premises

Cohly hated my work Mr Shepperd, the butcher, the baker, and I formed the staff The butcher and baker, respectively, killed and baked by night, and sold the products of their skill by day I was principally responsible for the grocery and hardware branches But I could never wrap up a pound of sugar neatly, however hard I ht try; and the entries I made in the books of the firh a good deal of h my hands, I fear I must have done the business a lot of harm, for there were many complaints on the part of customers as to the manner in which their orders were executed

I well remeht to purchase a pair of boots The foot-gear then affected by the digger was enormously heavy and had heel-plates almost as thick as horseshoes

The boots were joined in pairs by pieces of string, and hung by these on nails stuck in the rafters, the latter being about twelve feet above the floor When a pair had to be lifted down, a long bales to the end, was placed under the string