Scarcely half an hour pa.s.sed, that a herd of grotesque gnus, with the heads of bisons and horns of oxen, or of graceful quaggas, swift blesbocs, or light and elegant springbocs, did not pa.s.s in sight, in hundreds, or rather in thousands, across the plain. Although it was no easy matter to get up with them, still Hendricks was too experienced a hunter to be baffled, and he never failed, when he went out for the purpose, to bring back an ample supply of meat for the party. Water, however, was becoming scarce. The supply which had been brought for the use of the men was well-nigh exhausted, while the holes in which it was expected there would be enough for the animals, were found to be dry.
The country they were traversing was level, thinly scattered over with trees and small bushes, and there was abundance of gra.s.s; so that cattle and horses were able to obtain food, and such moisture as the gra.s.s afforded, but had had for two days not a drop of water; still, as the only hope of obtaining any was to push forward, they moved on as fast as the animals could drag the waggon. Hendricks, the Kaffirs and Hottentots, accustomed to privations of all sorts, uttered no complaints, but the younger members of the party began to suffer greatly from thirst.
"I"d give a guinea, if I had it, for a thimbleful of water," exclaimed Denis, "for I feel as if I could drink the Liffy dry."
Night came on, and they were compelled at length to outspan, when the poor oxen lay down overcome with fatigue. To move during the night was impossible, and the whole party sat round their fires in no happy mood.
They attempted to take supper, but few could swallow a particle of food.
The fires had been lit to keep off the lions heard roaring in the distance, but some time pa.s.sed before any came near enough to cause disquietude to the oxen, which invariably show their dread of the savage brutes. A vigilant watch was kept, but the night became very dark, and the fires, which for want of fuel had sunk low, scarcely shed their light far enough to show the oxen lying down a short distance off. Most of the party had turned in; but Hendricks himself, with Percy, who had offered to a.s.sist him, were keeping the first watch.
"How soon do you think we shall reach Falls Farm?" asked Percy.
"In five or six days, possibly, if we are fortunate enough to find water," answered Hendricks; "but I fear that the cattle will become so weak, they will scarcely be able to drag on the waggon. If we don"t discover any to-morrow, we must set off to search for it in different directions. I propose letting Denis and you explore to the north-west, while I ride ahead with Lionel, and Umgolo, with Crawford, if he choose to accompany him, can go off more to the north-east. We shall thus, I hope, fall in before long with what we so much require. The waggon can in the meantime proceed onwards as fast as the poor oxen can drag it."
"We can"t fail in that way, I hope, to find water," observed Percy. "So I suppose that I may count on getting home in the time you speak of."
"Are you tired of the journey?" asked Hendricks.
"Oh, no, on the contrary," answered Percy. "But I think my father and mother will be growing anxious at our not appearing so much longer after the time they expected us; otherwise I should like to accompany you through the whole of your expedition into the interior. I like the life much better than I fancy I shall being planted down on a farm, and not seeing any one for months together, except my family, though I am sure I shall be very happy with them."
Just then one of the oxen bellowed loudly.
"Get a lantern from the waggon, Percy; we must see what is the matter,"
said Hendricks.
Percy quickly brought the lantern, and they advanced towards the spot; but scarcely had they got half a dozen paces, when a rushing, trampling sound as of many feet was heard, and three of the oxen dashed into the camp, almost through the fire, others apparently taking an opposite direction. At the same time stifled groans reached their ears.
"One of the oxen must be hurt," observed Percy.
"Yes, but those groans are not made by the poor beast. They are the sounds produced by the lion as he devours his prey, and I must try to interrupt him," said Hendricks.
As he spoke, he advanced a few paces farther. At that moment Percy caught sight of an animal, certainly not an ox, springing by. Hendricks fired, and the next instant every one in the camp had jumped up, asking what was the matter.
"The matter is, that a lion has killed one of the oxen, and he may destroy several others if we don"t stop his career," answered Hendricks, rapidly reloading.
He now led the way to where the oxen had been lying down, while the Hottentots secured the three which had come into camp. None of the other oxen were to be seen, except one, which lay motionless on the ground, with its neck broken. In their eagerness to overtake them, the men, in spite of the darkness, would have set off in pursuit, had not Hendricks called them back.
"It would be useless in the dark, and you would run a great risk of being caught by the lion," he observed. "You must wait till morning, when we will go in search of them; and we may, perchance, find water at the same time, as they will probably head towards it, if they escape from the lion."
This was the most severe disaster which had yet occurred to the travellers; for in that wild district it would be impossible to replace the oxen, should they not be found.
The men, on being summoned, returned to the camp, but none of them were inclined again to go to sleep, for all were suffering greatly from thirst, and at any moment another lion might pay them a visit.
Morning at length dawned. The body of the ox killed by the lion was discovered about a hundred yards from the camp, a part of the hind-quarters only eaten, the brute having evidently been frightened away by the shot Hendricks fired, though whether it was wounded or not it was impossible to say.
Although they had gone supperless to bed, so parched were their throats that they were unable to take any breakfast. The horses had been secured to the waggon, or they to a certainty would have gone off with the oxen. Most of them, however, were too much knocked up to exert themselves. To recover the cattle was of the first importance.
Hendricks therefore found it necessary to alter his plan. The rest of the party undertaking to go on foot in search of water, he selected the only two horses fit for travelling, and rode away with one of the Hottentots to look for the missing cattle, while Crawford and Umgolo, as had been arranged, proceeded in a north-easterly direction. It had been decided, as soon as the oxen were recovered, should they be able to travel, that the waggon was to continue on due north, that they might have no difficulty in again finding it.
The morning was fresh, almost cold, and the air pure; so that had not Denis and Percy, who, accompanied by Gozo and two dogs, were the first to start, been suffering from thirst, and very much from hunger also, they would have been able to march merrily along. As it was, by chewing some gra.s.s which they plucked as they went on, they somewhat lessened their sufferings. They kept their eyes about them for any signs which might indicate water. Though here and there shrubs, and even trees of some size, grew out of the sandy soil, yet no moisture could be discovered. Fewer animals than usual were seen, but occasionally a herd of gnus or antelopes bounded across their path, but too far off for a shot.
As the sun rose the heat increased, but that made them still more anxious to discover water. The poor dogs suffered even more than they did, as they followed at their heels; for even the sight of game did not induce them to scamper off as they would have done on other occasions.
"It will never do to give in," said Denis, as Percy proposed sitting down under the shade of a tree to rest, where the dogs had already sought shelter.
"I don"t wish to give in; but if we cannot find water soon, I fear that it will be impossible to get on," answered Percy.
"Look at poor Gozo, he seems to be suffering even more than we are, though I should have supposed that he would have held out the longest."
The old Kaffir threw himself down in the shade, and lay on his back gasping. "I shall die, masters, I shall die!" he said; "I cannot go farther."
"Don"t be saying that, Gozo; you"ll get up after a little rest, and we"ll find water before long; if not, we may fall in with some juicy roots: I have heard that such grow in some parts of the country where the soil is sandy, and so we are likely to discover them here."
"It won"t do to stop here long," said Denis. "We must up and away; the sooner we set off, the sooner we shall find water. Come along, rouse up, Gozo; you will be better moving along than lying still."
The Kaffir thus incited to exertion got on his feet. The party set off, the dogs dragging themselves after their masters, for their instinct told them that there would be no safety for them alone. On and on they went, Denis and Percy doing their best to keep up each other"s spirits.
Poor Gozo, however, complained more and more. He had drawn his hunger belt tighter and tighter round his waist, until it looked as if it would cut him in two. His throat, he said, felt as if a hot iron had been run down it; yet, encouraged by Denis, he staggered on. It was too evident that he was growing weaker and weaker, and he declared a last that he could not carry his gun.
"But without it you will not be able to defend yourself, should we be attacked by a lion or lioness," said Denis.
"No matter: I must die then," answered Gozo.
"Well, if I carry your gun, will you come on?" asked Denis.
"I"ll try, master, I"ll try," answered the black as Denis took the gun.
"I must help you to carry it," said Percy. "I cannot do much to a.s.sist the fellow along, but I hope that his weakness is more fanciful than real, and that now he is relieved from the weight of his gun he will move on more briskly."
For a short distance Gozo staggered on faster than he had done for some time previously, but again his feet moved slower and slower, until coming to a tree he begged that he might lie down under it in the shade and rest.
"But rest means delay, and every minute we are becoming more and more thirsty," said Denis.
Still Gozo insisted on lying down, and Denis and Percy had to agree to his doing so. As they could not leave him, they sat down by his side.
After remaining a few minutes, however, Denis started up. "Come, this will never do," he exclaimed; "push on we must; we shall be as exhausted as he is, if we do not soon find water, and we shall not find it by sitting here."
"I am ready," said Percy; but when they tried to induce Gozo to rise, he declared that he was utterly unable to move.
"Leave me here, masters," he groaned out. "If you find water in a short time, come back, but if not go on, for it will be useless to return, as I shall be dead."
Again and again they endeavoured to induce him to get up, but in vain were all their efforts. At last Denis said, "We must leave him, I fear, though he runs a great risk of being destroyed by some wild beast."
He then turned to the unhappy native. "We will do as you wish. We will leave you your musket to defend yourself, but I would urge you not to give in; and if you feel yourself stronger, follow us. You will easily distinguish our spoor, and we will fire off our pieces to show you our whereabouts, should we find water," he said.
With much regret they left poor Gozo, having strong doubts whether they should find him alive on their return. They set off slightly refreshed by their rest. They had not gone far when they caught sight of a single wildebeest, or gnu, scampering along at a great rate, and going almost in the direction they were pursuing.
"Perhaps that animal is making its way towards water," observed Percy.
"I fear not," answered Denis. "If so, it would not be alone. It has been separated from the herd; and see, there are some creatures chasing it. They are wild dogs; you can just distinguish their heads moving along the gra.s.s in single file; the leader is close at the heels of the poor wildebeest."
As the dogs came nearer, a whole line amounting to several score could be seen, following exactly one behind the other. Presently the leader took a leap, and alighted on the haunches of the affrighted gnu.
Another and another followed, until, borne down by numbers, the gnu was dragged to the ground.