“Can’t,” returned Grosvenor, still struggling with his rifle; “the beastly thing’s—”
Crack! Dick instantly pressed the trigger; and as he did so the lioness rose into the air with a curious writhing movement, falling short of the spot where Grosvenor stood by about a foot. As she fell she rolled headlong, but instantly recovered herself, standing upon three legs, with the fourth broken close to the shoulder, while Grosvenor, stepping back hurriedly in the long grass to avoid her, was tripped up and fell flat upon his back. Fearing that, despite her broken leg, the lioness might spring upon his prostrate friend and badly maul him, Dick impetuously sprang forward, injecting a new cartridge as he ran, but stopped short, convulsed with laughter, at the sight of his friend, his long legs flourishing in the air, rolling with frantic energy out of the reach of the lioness. Then, as Grosvenor finally scrambled to his feet, minus his rifle, which he had dropped during his hurried retreat—while Jantje had incontinently bolted, carrying Grosvenor’s second rifle with him, as the lioness sprang—Dick again levelled his piece and bowled the great tawny brute over with a bullet behind the ear, which penetrated the brain.
Thus satisfactorily terminated the adventurers’ first experience with big game, each of the sportsmen bagging a lion and lioness, while the cub might be regarded as the joint property of the two. A very satisfactory feature of the day’s sport was that nobody had received so much as a scratch, the actual casualties amounting to two Kafir dogs slain. As for the Kafirs, they fell upon the carcasses and with incredible rapidity and skill stripped off the hides and pegged them out preparatory to treating them in the native fashion, afterwards removing the heads and carefully depositing each in the near vicinity of an ants’ nest, in order that the insects might remove—as they very speedily would—every atom of flesh from the bones. Then, having rendered this service to the champions who had delivered them from their formidable enemies, they departed, dancing, to the village, singing a triumphant song to the glory of the white men, in which each incident of the recent hunt was graphically described with appropriate gesture.
Chapter Seven.
The Makolo Country.
A full week was spent by the travellers among those friendly villagers, during which Dick Maitland assiduously tended the wounded man, who by the end of that time, thanks in part to his own healthy flesh and blood, the result of simple, frugal living, and, more largely, to the young doctor’s skilful treatment, had advanced so far toward recovery that nature might safely be left to complete the cure. The week had been not altogether unprofitably spent in other respects, the two white men assiduously devoting themselves, with Mafuta’s assistance, to the study of the native language, varied occasionally, on Dick’s part, by a little botanising—during which he discovered some half a dozen plants that seemed to possess valuable properties—and the taming of the lion cub, which, after the first two or three days of captivity, responded with ever-growing alacrity to his young master’s advances, until by the end of six weeks he had learned to answer to the name of Leo, to come at Dick’s call or whistle, and, in short, had become as tame as a dog. This result, and the gentleness of disposition which Leo manifested, Dick attributed largely to the fact that the animal was never allowed to taste blood, or raw flesh of any kind, his food—after a milk diet for the first three weeks of his captivity—consisting entirely of well-roasted flesh.
The natives witnessed the preparations for the departure of their white friends with every manifestation of sincere regret, assisting to drive up and inspan the oxen, presenting a fine milch cow for Leo’s especial benefit, as well as quantities of mealies, bananas, and other garden produce, warning the travellers of various difficulties and dangers that lurked on the next hundred miles or so of their route, and carefully instructing them how they might best be avoided, and in many other ways making plain the sorrow with which they bade them farewell. Finally, when the oxen were inspanned and the wagon was on the very point of moving off, Mafuta, who had hitherto been missing, presented himself in full marching order, armed with shield, assagais, and knobkerrie, with plumed head-dress, and cows’ tails bound about his legs below the knees, and curtly informed Dick that it was his fixed intention to join the party! Although both Dick and Grosvenor did their utmost to dissuade him, by representing to him the great length and exceeding danger of the journey upon which they were bound, and the possibility that they might never return, it was all of no avail, he alternately insisted and entreated, declaring that he wanted no wages or reward of any kind. Dick had pulled his brother back out of the grave, and he felt it to be his duty, as well as his pleasure, to devote himself henceforward to the service of the white man who had done this wonderful thing; and finally, when Dick, loath to take the man away from his kith and kin, definitely refused to take him, the Kafir countered by saying, in effect: “Very well; the veldt is free to all, and if you will not permit me to join your party, I can at least follow you at a distance, and be at hand whenever you require my services.” After which, of course, there was no more to be said, and Mafuta was allowed to have his own way, to the great joy of his brethren of the village.
Nor was it very long before the travellers had abundant reason to congratulate themselves upon their decision in this respect, for Mafuta not only proved to be a most intelligent and devoted servant, but also a splendid guide, knowing the exact localities of the various streams and waterholes on their route, as far as the Zambezi, also the most favourable crossing places, where the best grass and the most game were to be found, and, most important of all, perhaps, the exact boundaries of the fly country. Indeed but for this last knowledge it is almost certain that in their anxiety to take the shortest possible cuts they would probably have lost practically all their cattle, and thus have been obliged to bring their adventure to a premature end.