Part 6 (1/2)
”Co friends with your wonderful stories, and to ain,” said Hendricks ”The lion is not so very formidable a beast, after all I've never been troubled by one in h I have not unfrequently had half a dozen roaring round it at night; but then I have always kept up a good fire, and had men on the watch, ready to shoot the brutes, should they come near; so their instinct, I fancy, has told them that it would be prudent to keep at a distance”
The horses had been knee-haltered, the usual way of securing the, and had been turned out with the cattle to pick up as rass, with one of the Hottentot boys, old Dos, to watch them The Hottentots, like postilions, are always boys to the end of their days Dos, though near sixty, was so sht have been mistaken for a boy
As Hendricks intended to start at daylight, he ordered all hands to lie down at an early hour, and obtain as round for their beds, and the starry heavens overhead A piece of canvas let down fro Englishmen--ere supposed to be more luxuriously inclined than the rest of the party--froht air, while the mound also contributed to protect the camp
Denis and Lionel did not disdain to creep in beside theon In a few h Crawford and Percy did not speak, the strangeness of the scene prevented the to sleep Soet a little drohen they were startled by a terrific roar, which see their heads against the bottoon as they did so, in a very unpleasant fashi+on, they scra to ht be, on their feet, and to look about them
They were followed by Denis and Lionel, who had naturally been awakened by the roaring
”What is it? Where is it?” asked Percy Broderick
”Look there,” answered Denis, pointing to the top of the ht, the outlines could be seen clearly defined against the sky, of two lions The ain sent forth a roar, which sounded fearfully loud in the silent night air The hideous uproar theyout of his berth, seized his gun, ever ready at hand, and stepped a few paces from the ca to their feet, and held their rifles ready for instant action, while the dogs, rushi+ng to the front, continued barking in varied tones, though they showed no inclination to venture beyond the protection of their masters The lions, however, did not advance, but continued standing in the position in which they had at first been seen, contenting the an occasional roar, as if to terrify the occupants beforea final rush into their midst The hunters, however, were too well accustomed to encounters with lions to be alarht with a couple at night would not be free of danger, should either of theht It would indeed be no easythem down at the distance they were off
”We ive us no tiolo and another experienced hunter to his side Ordering the other s, he slowly advanced with his two companions towards the foot of the mound Denis and Lionel, ell able to use the small rifle his friend had procured for him, with Percy and Crawford, kept behind as a reserve, but Hendricks had ordered them on no account to fire, unless by chance the lions should break through and come down upon them
Slowly the hunters advanced up theto have noticed the as loudly as before, till suddenly they seemed to beco boldly forward, Percy and his co as cowardly dogs are apt to do after barking, then finally turning round, they trotted off until they were lost to sight at the other side of the eously met, and so these have shown theain to-night by their sweet voices, though weover their disappointain quiet, and Denis and Lionel, accustomed to such adventures, quickly went to sleep, but Percy and Crawford could not, as before, close their eyes Every now and then, as they listened, they heard a lowfrom a distance
”What can that curious noise be?” asked Crawford ”I should fancy it was land”
”I don't fancy any deer would rery lions roa about,” answered Percy ”Perhaps it is o I say, Denis, what creatures arethose curious sounds? Just listen for ahi was the matter
”What curious sounds?” he asked ”Sure I only hear a couple of lions ht when they want their suppers, and haven't yet found anything to eat There now go to sleep, and don't be bothering a felloaking hier noises than those” And Denis covered his head up again with his blanket
The rest of the night passed quietly by, but at early dawn there was a great hubbub a the Hottentots and Kaffirs The horses had disappeared; either the lions had put the knee-haltered, or they had gone in search of greener pastures
Old Dos had not seen the the cattle, and had taken little note of the that they could take care of themselves The consequence was, he and another Hottentot boy, Tan, were sent off in search of theht had increased sufficiently to enable their spoor to be seen The party had therefore to reht back
”I should have preferred more picturesque scenery to spend the day in
I wonder our leader takes the matter so coolly,” observed Crawford
”It's just this, that he's accustomed to it,” answered Denis ”A man who travels in this country must have a vast amount of patience He must not value time as you do in the old country”
Hendricks, however, did not let his people re the harness, cutting thongs, collecting fuel, and doing other odd jobs, while he and Uuns in search of a pallah or other gaer coreat to enjoy exercise Before noon the horses were brought back, and the hunters returning with a springboc, no tion proceeded on at a faster pace than usual, to on sticking as it reached the opposite bank, andit up, as the oxen obstinately refused to pull all together In vain the Hottentot boys rushed in a by soft blandishe-sounding tones, and Denis flew here and there, poking one, lashi+ng another, hauling at the head of a third, his exalish--
”You must make haste, boys, for we have a worse bit than this to cross, and cross it we ht”
Scarcely had he disappeared in the distance than the oxen, suddenly pulling together, hauled the waggon out Denis uttered a loud shout of triu after them
The pro on for three miles or so, the foot of a hill was reached The driver knoas before hiether as they were then doing, he on up without a stop
For the first two-thirds of the way they did very well, but at last co to a steep pitch, suddenly the whole span stopped, and refused to budge an inch farther Frantically the driver lashed and lashed, and cracked his whip, the reports resounding like a sharp fire of musketry amid the hills It was of no avail, and had not two of the e gon would have gone backwards, and dragged the animals after it to the bottom of the hill In vain the driver shouted and yelled; forward they would not go; but began twisting and turning round in their yokes, so down on their knees, others rolling over with the risk of being strangled by the riems which secured them to the yoke To Crawford's eye they appeared in a state of confusion, from which it would be impossible to extricate them