Part 8 (2/2)
He called Victor to his side, and explained to hie of hills which were distant about two miles These hills were rocky and steep, and thus an enemy could approach only from one side There was much underwood, and thus there see found The difficulty, however, see a visible trail
These advantages and drawbacks having been discussed between the two hunters, it was decided to run the risk of leaving a trail rather than here they then were; but scarcely had Hans co ards, froerly exclaiood, and favours us Look, Victor, a stor”
”And what of that, Hans?” exclaimed Victor
”Our spoor will be washed out, Victor: ain those hills, and if we do so before the rain, the keenest-eyed Matabili will not be able to trace us; so co If no eyes are now on us, wediscovered Keep close together, Katie, and by round, and ill yet live to join our people again”
The two hunters and their charges walked rapidly towards the hills which had been referred to, and entering on an old water-course, worked their way up towards the su about in all directions, and the water during heavy rains had worked its way a these, so that several holloere scooped out so as to fors; these, however, were not places which an experienced -place, for he knew that the same cause which had produced these holes would render them unsuitable for habitations He advanced, therefore, until he found soainst any rains whichdown the saddles and other articles that he had carried from the last outspan, he requested Victor to remain with Katrine and her sister until he had exaround
”You know the call of the grey nal that one of us requires the presence of the other And noill go and exa along the edge of the bush, walked onwards along what at first seeth, as he examined this, he becas, though now it had been long untrodden; he followed this path until it led hiood-sized English drawing-rooe of rocks; this table-land was formed by a solid block of rock, which descended perpendicularly for fully sixty feet on three sides, whilst on the fourth there was a wall of rock rising 200 feet above hinable, and as he scanned the country round, he felt that with twenty trusty es
The face of the rock had been scooped out by artificial h had been forreat labour This Hans knew must be the work of Bushmen, who for some reason had now apparently deserted the locality Fro country could be seen in all directions, and water being within a few yards, Hans at once selected this place for the residence of his cos of various creatures, scratched on the stone of the rock, whilst just outside a valuable article lay neglected; this was a large gourd, capable of containing about two quarts of water Hans at once placed this inside the cave, and then corew on the slope near; having procured sufficient of this to make a soft bed in one of the caves, he descended the ravine, and rejoined Victor and the two girls
”A stor,” he said, ”and that ash out our spoor; so now come with me, and I will show you a nice quiet retreat before the rain falls”
Victor, aided by Hans and the two girls, ascended the ravine, and on seeing the caves and the security of the retreat, which were evident at once even to the inexperienced eyes of the girls, they were delighted
”No one can find us here, Hans,” said Katrine; ”and if they found us, they could not get at us However did you come to know of it?”
”I found it by chance,” said Hans; ”but now, Katie, you n of a ribbon be seen, for therebeing seen”
”Here comes the rain,” exclaimed Victor, as the heavy drops of a thunder-shower cae of rain: ”that ash out our footprints, and noe cannot be traced; so if we avoid being seen we , and the girls must sadly want food”
”There is still soet soht eyes, and you yours too, Meechy, and look all over those hills and plains and see what passes or et sorass We will have a fire presently, and cook so, I believe, without firing a shot, for the Kaffir's spears are not bad weapons”
Victor did as requested, and Hans, carrying his gun for his protection, and in case of danger, left the caves and walked slowly along the old path, looking in all directions for signs of garew on this hill-side, and thus added to the beauty of the scene, whilst flowering acacias scented the air with their fragrance On one of the branches of an acacia that hung low, Hans noticed several bees busily engaged gathering honey; fros were thickly covered with the spoil frohly from the branch and carefully watched The creature, after buzzing angrily round Hans' head once or twice, darted off up the ravine Hans watched it as long as it was in sight, and then followed the direction in which the creature had retreated
After walking about 200 yards Hans disturbed another bee that was busily engaged gathering honey; this creature fleay also up the ravine, and Hans quickly followed it He knew that when a bee laden with honey is alar desirous of procuring honey, adopted this uided by the bees to their hive, and the African bee, being by no lish brother, allows its honey to be taken by those who understand how to do it The method is, if the honey be in a hollow tree, or in a cleft of the rock, or such a locality, to pay no attention to the buzzing of the bees, or to attempt in any way to knock them away, should they settle on you, but to slowly insert the hand into the nest, and withdraw the honeycomb and carry it away It rarely happens that the bees attack any one, and should they do so their sting is far less painful than is that of the English bee [Having taken many bees' nests in Africa, ere but once attacked by the bees
This took place in consequence of accidentally squeezing a bee between our hand and the tree in which was its honey; the little creature gave a sharp, angry buzz, which seenal for attack, as about twenty bees flew on our head, and several on the face; they all stung, the s in, but in less than five lish red-hipped hus]
Hans procured a large heap of honeycomb, hich he proceeded to the caves He knew that the tiht come when they could not leave the caves, and thus, to collect any thing that lected; and honey, though not very substantial, was yet food which et were some rock rabbits, the daas of the Dutch, and the coney of Scripture These little creatures, notrocks, and are very good eating; they are, however, very watchful, and require an expert shot to be able to hit them, for they rarely allow a hunter to approach nearer than one hundred yards to theauinea-fowl and pheasants in abundance, whilst buck of various kinds had left so hbourhood
He soon discovered the traces of rock rabbits, and with the help of the broad blade of the Kaffir's assagy he was able to dig out four of these creatures
Thus provided with food he returned to the caves, and observing that the hich had been collected was allht ”You see, Victor, if we made a fire now, the suide an ene this s, so we ht we ht of a fire; but that is more easily avoided We can cover the mouth of the cave, or we can make a fire below here, and can thus cook our food safely, for the sh to do without a fire for a week, and then one risk only is run”
”In the water-course we caround,”
reht could be seen from the distance”
”I rerass, so as to be ready for the night; then I will try to knock down so cut soaindown several guinea-foith these sticks, which he threith the skill of a Kaffir The guinea-fowl, endeavouring to conceal therass, would allow themselves almost to be trodden on before they would fly away In addition to the rabbits and guinea-fowl, Hans collected a great h to last a week, without incurring the necessity of firing a shot No sooner had this essential preparation been coht sticks, which he thrust into the ground in front of the caves, and at about a foot apart: across these he fastened several horizontal twigs; first by lacing the the ends with the bark that he peeled off a tall, soft-wooded greenish shrub Having thus traced out a frarass which grew in the kloof, and thus before sundown he had formed a very complete room, perfectly sheltered from the wind and rain In front of this thatched doorway he placed some branches of trees, and thus prevented any person at a distance fro construction
Hans was much pleased with his work, and called to Katrine to examine it from a short distance