A business-like appearance was that of the scene of operations. The animals were standing quietly about the large enclosure seventy yards in diameter, with its solid, bristling thorn-fence eight or nine feet high and its ma.s.sive five-barred gate. In the centre burnt--or rather smouldered, for it was of the red-hot glowing order--a great fire, over which bent the bronzed form of Xuvani, the cattle-herd, superintending the due heating of the branding-irons and gossiping in subdued gutturals with the other "hands"--two Kafirs and a smart, wiry little Hottentot, who, with the _penchant_ of his race for scriptural appellations, rejoiced in the time-honoured and patriarchal one of Abram. Xuvani was a man of between fifty and sixty, of middle height, and of powerful, almost herculean build; the muscles stood out upon his limbs like great ropes, and a blow from his fist--that is, if he had known how to make use of his fists, which Kafirs very seldom do know--would have sufficed to fell an ox. He was rather light in colour, and his beard and woolly head were just shot with grey; there was shrewdness in his rugged features, and a twinkle of satiric humour lurked in his eye. He had been a long time in the service of his present master, who had found him a cut above the average Kafir in honesty and trustworthiness. Moreover, he was greatly looked up to by the other natives, not only on account of his great physical strength, but also as one who had shown his prowess in a marked manner during the wars which have been alluded to. Although far from quarrelsome by nature, Xuvani never needed a second challenge.
His kerries were all ready, as more than one party of Fingoes pa.s.sing Seringa Vale in search of employment could testify, to its sorrow.
Indeed, once he had expiated his share in one of these African Donnybrooks by a sentence of several months in gaol.
"Well, Xuvani!" sang out Hicks, as they slipped off their jackets and flung them on to the kraal fence--"Got the iron hot? All right, let"s begin. Now then, Piet--what the devil are you standing there for, grinning like a Cheshire cat? Lay hold of the _reim_ and catch that heifer."
Piet, a stalwart Kafir, grinned all the harder, and drawing out the running noose of the _reim_ he made a cast, then, as the heifer ran over it, with a mighty jerk he drew it taut and the animal, noosed by the hind leg, fell. Before it could rise again they all threw themselves upon it, and in a trice its legs were securely bound while two men firmly held its head. In a second Hicks had taken the branding-iron from one of the Kafirs, and held it for half a minute lightly but firmly pressed against the fleshy part of the thigh. The poor brute groaned and struggled violently as it felt the hot iron; there was a sharp, hissing sound from the singeing hair, a foetid smoke arose, diffusing a smell of burnt flesh, and the operation was complete. Whatever danger there is in the performance generally falls to the lot of him who releases the victim, which not unfrequently, as soon as it feels its logs again, fiercely charges its emanc.i.p.ator, all the others having previously withdrawn themselves behind some of the other cattle standing about the kraal. The first animal, however, was not of an inherently vicious nature. Consequently, no sooner was it free than it ran off among its kindred, greatly scared and bewildered. All went merrily enough till they had got a fine black and white cow under the iron. She lay still, but there was rage mingled with pain in her groaning.
"She"ll be at some of us when she gets up," said Jeffreys, exerting all his strength to restrain the frenzied plunges of her pointed horns.
They stood aside, as, with a rapid turn of the wrist, Xuvani deftly cast loose her bonds. She sprang to her feet in a twinkling, and, lowering her head, furiously charged the old cattle-herd, who, there being no room for dodging, was constrained to run, with his late victim after him, head down, all ready to fling him a dozen feet in the air. But the consummate coolness and agility of the Kafir was to the fore. He zigzagged as he ran, to avoid a charge, then, seizing his opportunity, he sprang aside, and placing one hand between the animal"s shoulders he vaulted lightly over her back as she sped past him and got in among the rest. A cheer broke from the spectators at this splendid feat, but before it had time to die, a shout of "Look out, she"s coming this way,"
sent them all scattering; and sure enough, singling out Jeffreys, she made at him like a streak of lightning. He just avoided her charge by dodging round the rear of a great trek ox, who was standing quietly wondering what the deuce all the hubbub was about. The furious charge of the maddened cow into his unoffending flanks may, or may not, have enlightened him on the point; anyhow, he resented the familiarity by lashing out with his heels, one of which coming in violent contact with the chin of his a.s.sailant had the effect of somewhat modifying that exuberant animal"s spirits, and she slunk off in aggrieved fashion, all thoughts of vengeance at an end.
"By Jove!" said Claverton. "Xuvani"s a smart fellow. That"s one of the neatest things I ever saw done."
The old Kafir grinned a little, and they went on with the programme.
After two or three more beasts had been branded, Jeffreys remarked:
"Now then, you fellows, there are lively times in store. It"s that bull"s turn. I"ve been watching him, and he looks wicked--devilish wicked." He pointed to the young bull which had been troublesome in the morning.
"All right," said Claverton. "That"s my speciality. I made up my mind to have the burning of that chap when I turned him back twenty-one times this morning."
"The branding"s nothing; it"s the letting him up that"s the fishy part,"
said Jeffreys, with a thinly-veiled sneer.
Noose in hand the Kafirs advanced towards the bull, who was standing in a corner of the kraal, pawing up the ground, with his head down, and rolling his eyes viciously.
"Look out," warned Hicks, "he"s all ready for a charge!"
Scarcely were the words out of his mouth than the animal sprang forward as the noose was thrown down in front of him; then, as he rushed over it, the thong was tightened, and he fell sprawling on all-fours and roaring hideously. He plunged and struggled as for dear life, but another jerk of the _reim_ threw him, and in ten seconds he was lying bound and helpless.
"Now then, Tambusa, bring the iron. Sharp"s the word!" cried Claverton; then receiving it, he deliberately imprinted a neat B upon his prostrate foe, whose frenzied roars drowned the hissing of burnt flesh, as the moist steam rose in clouds from his tortured thigh.
"By Jove, there"s a spree sticking out!" said Hicks, emphatically. "We _shall_ have to mind our eye when he gets up. Are you ready, Xuvani?"
"No, he isn"t. _I"m_ going to loosen the _reim_," answered Claverton, preparing to make good his words.
"Bosh, old chap! Better let him do it, he"s used to it," remonstrated Hicks.
"Devil a bit. Now! Stand aside!" and as the others made themselves scarce, he drew off the noose, and the bull, springing to his feet, vented his feelings in an appalling roar as he glared round in search of somebody to pulverise. As luck would have it, at this moment a cow behind which Tambusa had taken refuge quietly walked away, thus disclosing that unfortunate aboriginal to the full view of the infuriated beast, which came straight at him there and then. Now Tambusa was a youthful Kafir, and naturally of a mild and unaggressive disposition, and when he saw the fierce brute making for him, he lost nerve and blindly fled. The kraal gate towered in front of him, and with the energy of despair he half leaped, half scrambled over it, and his foot catching the topmost bar he was hurled headlong, half-stunned and wholly bewildered, a dozen yards off upon the smooth green sward outside. His pursuer, without pausing, cleared the gate like a stag, and there he lay entirely at the mercy of the infuriated bull. Another minute, and he would be gored and torn in pieces. But a cool brain and determined heart was between him and certain death. Seizing his jacket from the hedge whereon it had been flung, Claverton was through the kraal gate in a twinkling, and not one second too soon, for the bull, who had been carried on some fifty yards by the impetus of his leap, had now turned, and with head lowered was thundering down upon his prostrate prey, "brilling" [Note 1] savagely. At this juncture Claverton darted in front of him, and throwing out his jacket, after the manner of the _cappa_ of a _torero_, he succeeded in drawing off the headlong charge, which temporary respite Xuvani was able to make the most of by lugging his young compatriot through the gate again. Then the bull stopped, glared for a moment, and with a terrific roar came at Claverton again.
This time he nimbly leapt aside, striking the animal across the eyes with the jacket. Had the bull charged at that moment it would probably have gone hard with him, for what with the violent exertion and the tension of the nerves, he was somewhat exhausted; but it did not. And what a picture was that upon the smooth sward. There stood the red savage brute, the sun glistening on his sleek hide and white horns, lashing his tail and pawing up the ground with his hoofs; the foam dropping from his mouth as with head lowered he gathered himself for one more terrific rush. Facing him ten yards off--his intrepid adversary, unarmed and exposed to his full fury. The spectators might well hold their breath. And yet as he slowly retreated step by step, and though he never took his eyes off the bull, Claverton was aware of every single movement that went on around him. He knew that the doorway leading into the garden was thronged, mistress and servant alike being attracted by the frenzied roars of the maddened beast. He saw Ethel faint dead away, and then summoning up nerve and strength for one final effort, he flung the coat right upon the gleaming horns of the ferocious brute, as with a new fury begotten of its short respite it made its deadly charge.
Suddenly blinded, the bull stopped and began turning round and round in its efforts to free itself, for the jacket had caught firmly on its horns; but taking advantage of his dexterous _coup de main_, Claverton was over the gate again and safe, while his antagonist, having amused himself by tearing the garment to ribbons, trotted away down the kloof, growling in baffled wrath.
"Well, he can go, we"ve done with him this time, but Heaven help any n.i.g.g.e.r that has the ill luck to cross that chap"s path within the next quarter of an hour," were Claverton"s first words. He was panting and breathless, but wanted to create a diversion from the string of congratulations which he knew was forthcoming; for, of all things, he hated a scene, and didn"t see what there was to make a fuss about because a fellow had had a little spree with a bull, to divert his attention from a young idiot of a n.i.g.g.e.r who had been a.s.s enough to tumble head-over-heels just at the wrong moment. Whatever his faults, there wasn"t a grain of vanity in the man.
"Now then, Xuvani--Piet!" he went on sharply, as the Kafirs, with a chorus of emphatic "whouws," were gazing after the retreating form of the cause of all the shindy. "What the devil are you fellows staring at? Come on--fall to--we"ve lost enough time already."
They resumed operations. Now and then a beast, when it was let up, would run at the Kafirs, but in a bewildered, half-hearted sort of a way, and without doing any damage; and all the younger cattle were disposed of. There yet remained four or five large oxen who had come into their present owner"s possession late in life, and who were to be sealed. These were not thrown down, however, but their heads made fast to a post by a _reim_ round their horns, while with another _reim_ the leg to be operated on was drawn out at tension. They were sober, sedate creatures who had undergone plenty of the troubles of life, common to their race, in the shape of heavy loads, scarcity of water and often of gra.s.s in dry seasons, but, as if to make up for it, a plentiful allowance of whip; and took this additional affliction philosophically enough.
The result of the day"s doings was to open Jeffreys" eyes. His estimation of the other had undergone a considerable change since the previous evening. The dressed-up, finicking carpet skipper was fully his own equal in pluck, and in cool-headedness immeasurably his superior. This he could not but recognise, though he regarded Claverton with no increase of cordiality.
Yes, life would flow pleasantly enough in this unruffled fashion, thought Claverton, as they were all strolling in the garden towards sundown. After the stirring events of the day, the quiet and rest of a perfect evening seemed more than ordinarily grateful. All was so still, and calm, and soothing, and such sound as reached them seemed so softened and mellowed by distance as to harmonise rather than to disturb. A dove cooed softly from an adjacent thorn-brake, and bees returning to the old basket hive set in a nook in the wall, made a tuneful hum upon the sensuous air. Yonder a dragon-fly zigzagged on gauzy wing above the gla.s.sy surface of the dam, seeking its prey among the gnats whose chrysalids were hatched beneath the overhanging weeds.
Suddenly this idyllic scene was invaded by a brace of Kafirs. They were Xuvani and Tambusa, and they began to accost Claverton.
"What on earth do they want? Something to do with that eternal bull, I suppose. I wish the brute had found its way into some butcher"s shop long ago! Here, Hicks I come and interpret, there"s a good fellow!"
"He says Tambusa is his sister"s child, and that you saved his life,"
interpreted Hicks; "that is to say you saved his--Xuvani"s life, Kafir way of putting it, you know--and not only did you save his life, or rather both their lives," went on Hicks, manfully unravelling the native"s long-winded oration; "but you nearly lost your own."
"That all?"
"No--don"t interrupt him. He says that they are grateful--both he and the boy. That the future is uncertain, and that we never know what turn events will take--"
"He never spoke a truer word than that, anyhow."
"And that if ever at any time he or Tambusa can render you any service they will do so, even should it be at the risk of their lives--a life for a life--and that they are glad to have looked upon such a howling big swell," concluded Hicks, with the result that Ethel was obliged to turn away to stifle her laughter.
"Bosh, Hicks! He didn"t say that, you know."
"He did, upon my word. At least, to be more literal, he said he was glad to have looked upon so great a chief. But my rendering was more euphonious--more poetical, don"t you see?"
Then Tambusa knelt down and kissed his rescuer"s foot, and the two Kafirs withdrew. Claverton looked after them with a curious expression.
"That"s all too thickly laid on," he said. "Grat.i.tude, "lively sense of favours to come," _i.e._ prospective "bacco. H"m! much too thick!"
"What a dreadful person you are!" expostulated Ethel. "Why shouldn"t they mean what they say? I declare that speech of Xuvani"s was a perfect flower of savage poetry, and you don"t know what a good fellow he is. I think it"s quite horrid of you to throw cold water on him."
"So it would be if I had. The n.o.ble savage don"t affect that fluid much as a rule in any state of temperature."
Did the Kafir mean what he said? We shall see.
Note 1. Frontier term for the growling noise which is neither roar nor bellow, made by enraged cattle.
VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER EIGHT.
SPOEK KRANTZ.
It is Sunday.
Ride we behind the horseman who is picking his way down a stony path through the ever present bush, making for yon thatched building down there in the hollow. A low, rough shanty, built in the roughest and readiest fashion, and of the rawest of red brick. Three windows, cobwebbed and cloudy with many a patched-up pane of blue or brown paper, admit light and air, and a door made to open in halves. A smaller edifice hard by, with tumble-down mud walls and in a state of more or less rooflessness, does duty as a stable, and in front of the two an open s.p.a.ce slopes down a distance of one hundred and fifty yards to the river, whose limpid waters dash and sparkle over their stony bed, between cactus-lined banks--the stubbornly encroaching and well-nigh ineradicable p.r.i.c.kly pear. Opposite rises a great cliff, whose base and sides are set in the greenest and most luxuriant of forest trees, but whose brow, like its stern face, is bare of foliage and stands out in hard relief against the sky. There seems no reason why this cliff should be there at all, seeing that the hill would have been far more symmetrical without it, unless in its wild irregularity it were destined for the purpose alone of giving a magnificent--if a trifle forbidding-- frontage to the ill-looking and commonplace dwelling-house. On all sides the towering heights rise to the sky, shutting in this beautiful and romantic spot which might be a veritable Sleepy Hollow, so far does it seem from the sights and the sounds of men. But it must be confessed that its beauty and romance are utterly thrown away upon its present occupant, who is wont to describe the place as "a beastly stifling hole out of which I"d be only too glad to clear to-morrow, by Jove; but then one can"t chuck up the lease, you know, and it isn"t half a bad place for stock, too." It rejoices in the inviting name of Spoek Krantz (Ghost Cliff), and is held in awe and terror as an unholy and demon-peopled locality by the superst.i.tions natives, as well as by the scarcely less superst.i.tious Boer; and gruesome tales are told of unearthly sights and sounds among the rocky caves at its base; shadowy shapes and strange fearful cries, and now and again mysterious fires are seen burning upon its ledges in the dead of night, while the most careful exploration the next morning has utterly failed to discover the smallest trace of footprint or cinder. Native tradition has stamped the spot as one to be avoided, for the spirit of a mighty wizard claims it as his resting-place. Even by day the place, shut in by its frowning heights, is lonely and forbidding of aspect.
But utterly impervious to supernatural terrors is he who now dwells in the haunted locality. The grim traditions of a savage race are to him as mere old wives" fables, and he laughs to scorn all notion of any awesome a.s.sociations whatever. He would just like to see a ghost, that was all, any and every night you pleased; if he didn"t make it lively for the spectral visitant with a bullet, call him a n.i.g.g.e.r. Yes, he would admit seeing strange lights on the cliff at times, and hearing strange sounds; but to ascribe them to supernatural agency struck him as utter bosh. The lights were caused by a moonlight reflection, or will-o"-the-wisps, or something of that sort; and the row, why, it was only some jackal yowling in the krantz, and as for getting in a funk about it, that would do for the n.i.g.g.e.rs or white-livered Dutchmen, but not for him. Tradition said that there was a secret cavern in the cliff, but the entrance was known to very few even among the natives themselves, and only to their most redoubted magicians. Certain it is that no Kafir admitted knowledge of this, and when questioned carefully evaded the subject.