Part 27 (1/2)
Mangaleesu acknowledged that he should grieve to expose Kalinda to the dangers she h, and proposed to leave her, if Captain Broderick would still afford her protection, and to go away by himself
”That would not ain venture to coh to capture it, they would insist upon her being given to thee until you deliver yourself up No, no! you and she must stay here until there is tis of the Zulus; and Cetchwayo, if he instigated thelish settlers with ih it was very possible that the Zulus had gone away altogether, Crawford and his coilant a watch round the stockade as ever They therefore continued their rounds, but they could discover nothing to indicate that an enehted up the beautiful landscape, all around was as cal as ever The scouts who had been on the look-out now came in, and reported that the Zulu force had really retired, and that the road to the north-east was clear Captain Broderick, who had previously ements, at once prepared to start
Percy felt very sad as he shook hands with Denis ”I wish that you had been able to stay on with us, old fellow,” he said ”I cannot help thinking of all the dangers and hardshi+ps you will have to go through, though, if I were not at hoh the spell with us, if Hendricks will let you, or your father, if you find hilad to see you, as you are a favourite with them, I can tell you that”
Denis had reason to flatter himself that such was the case All the family had been pleased with his hearty, unaffected manner, and thankful to him for the service he had rendered Percy
He bade theenerally so rave and burst into tears as soon as he was gone, though she tried hard to hide the been sent across, Captain Broderick and his party proceeded down to the boat, accompanied by the ins, the nature of which can be iiven by the captain, as he and Denis stepped into the boat, pulled by Rupert and Crawford At once , he led his party at a rapid rate to the north-east, those on the opposite bank watching therove of trees
”My father charged ilant watch in our fortress, lest after all any Zulus should be lurking in the neighbourhood,” said Rupert to his brother ”We o outside, or he may be seen by one of the enemy's scouts, in which case they would be certain to return in the hopes of capturing hione away, and that they have therefore no excuse for attacking us”
Crawford and Rupert did not fail to carry out Captain Broderick's directions; and Percy, as rapidly recovering his strength, was soon able to assist thee was let down, it was constantly watched, while one of the three was always looking out froood telescope, so that any objectscould be discovered at a considerable distance on three sides of the far abruptly in the rear shut out the view in that direction A scout occasionally sent out by Rupert reported that he was certain no Zulus in any nuh he could not be positive that one or two aleesu They therefore kept the chief and his young wife carefully concealed as before Mrs Broderick bestowed e sufficiently well to make herself understood, and she called in Rupert, who had studied it thoroughly, to assist her Her great desire was to ie of Christian truth to thenorant Kalinda's countenance brightened as she first heard the story of redeeed Mrs Broderick to tell her aleesu listened attentively to all that was said Though Kalinda appeared inclined to accept the truth, yet when he was asked what he thought, he only shook his head, saying, ”It may be so; but if I becoer be able to revenge myself on my enemies”
”Most certainly not!” answered Mrs Broderick ”God has said, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay' You ive your enemies If He thinks fit to punish thelish punish evil-doers, don't you?” asked Mangaleesu
”Certainly, the govern the same acts, and to teach by the ”
”I will consider thetime afterwards he scarcely spoke to any one, and appeared to be in a very thoughtful mood
Affairs at the farer be kept in the kraal, and had to be driven out to their pastures, under charge of the Kaffir herdsmen who tended them, with arms in their hands, and ere ordered to keep a watchful eye on every side to prevent being surprised They had the advantage of the river on one side and the mountains on the other, so that the ene a wide circuit In consequence of the absence of the captain and two of the best , the labour of the rest was much increased Crawford and Percy did their best to supply the deficiency, but they were, of course, as yet unaccustomed to the various duties required of them The ladies took upon themselves the care of the dairy, which was far enerally the case in Natal, where the farmers have mostly to depend upon their Kaffir servants, by whohly, and consequently are excessively wild Under the instruction of Biddy, the three young ladies had learned to milk the cows, and very successfully they perfor a pail to be upset, or losing a drop of the ht to feed out of their hands, and which were consequently as tah they would allow no one else, with the exception of Biddy, to approach them They would come at their call, and allow themselves to be milked with perfect docility The contrast between their cows and those tended by the Kaffirs was very great The Kaffir process ofwas barbarous in the extre driven into the kraal, was s were then tied together, and the calf was perht, when a Kaffir stood ready to haul him aside, and the rest of the milk was yielded into the pail
Biddy acted not only as cook for the family, but also for all the men on the far table in the centre, at which they sat in prienerally consisted of beef, gaetables, and a variety of fruits; as and poreatest profusion on the farenerally retired at an early hour, and rose at dahen they went about their respective avocations for a couple of hours before breakfast As soon as the coere milked, they and the heifers and calves were driven off to the pastures, while the ploughh, and set out to break up soh the soil was tolerably rich, it was baked by the sun, and as hard as a rock, and in soth of the oxen was required to draw the share through it Two of the labourers were ee as itoff the ripe cobs, stripping back their leafy covering, and hanging them in pairs across rails, where they could further dry, until they were carried to the granary In the es, sorown stalks of others bending with the weight of their yellow heads
Crawford undertook all carpentry business, having, as he said, practised the art when he made up his mind to become a settler He had also learned to mow, and he and Rupert spent sorass for the purpose of securing fodder for the horses through the winterclose round the homestead, as it is necessary to do, in case one of the fires, which are constantly occurring, should spread in that direction Should this precaution not be taken, the crops to a certainty would be destroyed, and the buildings theer Captain Broderick had surrounded his cultivated fields with hedges, either of the prickly cactus or the mimosa, whose hooked thorns ell calculated to prevent any anih
Crawford wasthe spade in the English fashi+on, he grasped the handle with both hands, holding it at arth, with the face turned towards hi of his ar it with his foot He used the handle as a lever to shovel out the loose earth, all being done with a jerk, and yet he round with extraordinary rapidity When Crawford, taking a spade, wished to show hi, ”No good,” and went on in his oay
To Percy, as not fit for hard work, was allotted the duty of picking the ripe cobs in the ed his brother to find hiood tih and on”
”I can do that already,” answered Percy; ”I learned that froe a span of twelve oxen with perhaps a little assistance”
There were so many duties to be perfor, which Crawford and Percy had looked forward to as one of theiremployments Rupert proive them a day's sport
”You have not seen our preserve yet We allop down to it,” said Rupert