Part 5 (2/2)
”Faith! I wonder what brought you two fellows out here, and I doubt much whether you'll like the country now you have cohty fine one, there's no doubt about that, for those who have a fancy for a wild life, and shooting rhinoceroses and buffaloes, not to speak of elephants and lions,” exclaimed Denis He had as yet had but little conversation with his fellow-travellers, they having only that on party fro All Denis kneas that they had coland, and were now bound in the same direction
”As to that, I was born in the colony, and have only come back to my native land,” answered Percy ”Haven't you heard of my father, Captain Broderick, who is settled at Falls Farm on the borders of the Transvaal country? I suppose I can endure what o through, and I shall soon get accustomed to it I can't say I know much about it at present, as I was sent to school in the old country, when I was a very little chap under the charge of an uncle, hom I spent land; but he died soo, and as , I was shi+pped off to return home, and Mr Piatt, the owner of the Cloof Farh to ask your friend Mr Hendricks to let us acco, as he said that he expected to pass close to ood a man to travel with,” said Denis ”He is the most noted hunter in the whole colony, and a capital fellow besides”
”I was reatly like to accohout the whole of the expedition; but as I ca to learn Half a year ago I had no notion of doing such a thing I was at Oxford, intending to become a barrister; but the sht be several years before I could obtain a brief, I thought the wisest thing I could do with the remainder of my possessions was to co accounts I cannot say exactly that I am disappointed; but were I to purchase a farm, and attempt to commence operations by myself, I should feel remarkably like a fish out of water, for I confess I have not the slightest idea what I should do”
”Faith! there are a good entlemen like you, Mr Crawford,”
observed Denis, ”only they haven't the wisdo soe in In in, that they buy land, and very soon find all their rown, or what they have laid out in other ways has given them any return When I was in the office of entlemen used to co Those who have friends at hoeand delving, or road et to the surface Now if they, as I was saying, had kept their es or even for nothing, they would have been able in time to set up for themselves”
”As to that, I must not boast too much of my wisdom,” answered Crawford
”My capital hasn't yet been sent out to the colony, so that I could not invest it even if I wished to do so Percy assures me that I shall receive a elcome from his fa how far operations are carried on He tells me also that I shall obtain an easy introduction to every description of wild beast: elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, gnus, black and brindled, blessbocs, hartebeests, reitbocs, not to speak of others of smaller size, and birds innumerable”
”Faith! you'll not find any want of them, but you'll remember it's not always pleasant to 's ramble, and you will have reason to be thankful if you don't, for I can assure you that they're rather troublesoo, when I had to spend so for my breakfast, while a couple of lions and their cubs atching below, eager to breakfast off me;” and Denis told, with much _naivete_, his adventure on his first journey with his father
Besides the white persons who have been on party consisted of three Hottentots, whose duty was to drive and attend especially to the cattle; and six Kaffir hunters, aolo was the chief Hendricks intended to obtain others who had before served under him on the way There were three spare horses, which followed the waggon, fastened by rieeneral substitute for rope in the colony Five dogspart of the expedition, rejoicing in the nas, and Raff The latter belonged to Denis, who so called the aniiven it to him The ”baste,” he boasted, did credit to the ”ould counthry:” for although no beauty, he was the cleverest and bravest of all the dogs, and much attached to him
Each of the fourteen oxen had a Dutch na when the driver shouted out, that if it did not exert itself, it would presently feel the effects of his long whip on its hide
Travelling in Africa needs the exercise of a large around is level, the huge h hills have to be surress is still slower
The ”trek,” as the day's journey is called, had been far fro wind blew in the faces of the travellers, while the country presented a vast stony plain, burned and arid, with here and there a few s the line of the horizon Harry Crawford and Percy looked about them with dismay
”I hope the country ahead is not all to be like this,” said the former
”No fear of that,” answered Denis ”We shall have, to be sure, a few stony mountains to climb over, and now and then, in parts, it's hard to find a tree, but that's only here and there; for there are forests, and grassy meadows, and streams, and beautiful valleys, such as are to be found in no other part of the world, or, at all events, none superior to them, inabove the plain, what I daresay you took to be a cloud, but it is a range of et over theh to satisfy you We shall then meet also hat you fellows from the old country call adventures, but which we out here are so accustomed to that we do not think much about them”
Dreary as was the scenery in other respects, it was enlivened by nueous flowers, the beauty of which Harry Crawford ell able to appreciate, although ignorant of the names of most of them
”We should value these in our hot-houses at horeen grass,” observed Denis, ”and so would the cattle, I've a notion To say the truth, I've seen so er pay any attention to thee, now that I come to examine them more particularly”
Percy, who admired the flowers as ot off his horse to pick soreatly to the amusement of Denis
”Take care, my boy, not to catch hold of the tail of a puff adder,” he exclaiain dismounted ”They are pretty numerous hereabouts, and you may chance to put your hand close to one of their holes while you are picking those flowers”
Percy, without ain, satisfied with the collection he had already made
As they advanced the country improved They passed the ruins of several farms, the owners of which had ”trekked” to the Transvaal republic
Hour after hour the waggon proceeded on through the sa, no otherfound, a halt was called near one of the mounds which have been described, and close by which ran a s the weary oxen sufficient water to quench their thirst As no trees or shrubs grew near, a quantity of dry dung was collected to serve as fuel
This, when once lighted, threw out an intense heat, quickly boiling all the pots placed over it; but as it produced little or no flame, it was not so well calculated to serve as a watch fire to scare aild beasts as one formed of wood It was necessary, therefore, to keep a stricter watch than usual at night, lest a liona feast off one of the oxen or horses
While the party were seated at supper, Denis a all sorts of terrible tales of the way a lion had occasionally leapt into a camp and carried off a man before his companions had time to rescue him