Chapter Eight.
An Exciting Day.
By the time that Piet and I got back to the wagon it was within an hour of sunset; I therefore decided to remain for the night where we were, the grass being good, and our outspan situated within half a mile of a considerable stream of water with which we should lose touch upon entering the gorge, since the river turned eastward immediately opposite the spot where we were outspanned. But although I decided not to move the wagon until the morrow, I was not disposed to remain personally inactive; for I had observed that about two miles to the eastward the river flowed through a slight depression, which had thus become converted into a water vley, or wide sheet of shallow water, where I thought it not improbable that I might find a few widgeon to afford a welcome change from the buck meat that had now become our almost continuous fare. Moreover, I had begun to break to the saddle the two ponies which Moshesh had given me, and had already advanced so far in the matter of their education that they would both allow me to mount them, and I regarded the present as a favourable opportunity to give Jack, the stallion, a little gentle exercise. Therefore I instructed Piet to shift my saddle from Prince to Jack, and, taking my double-barrelled sporting gun and a few cartridges, I mounted and cantered away along the river bank, with Thunder and Juno, the two dogs, bounding gaily along on either hand, and with Jack pulling hard upon his snaffle and doing his utmost to break away, for he was so fresh as to be almost unmanageable. A good brisk five-mile gallop over the veld to the farther extremity of the vley, however, somewhat calmed his exuberant spirits, and when at length I dismounted, the youngster was placid enough to be quite willing to follow at my heels with the bridle resting loosely upon his neck, or to stand still when it was allowed to trail upon the ground.
The sun had already vanished in a haze of regal purple hanging low along the western horizon when at length I managed to bag three brace of the widgeon that I had been hoping for; and with these neatly strung together by the feet, and slung across Jack’s shoulders in front of the saddle, I was just preparing to mount and canter away back to camp when, looming monstrously through the thin, grey mist that was insidiously rising from the veld, I beheld a long procession of enormous forms gradually resolving out of the fog wreaths about half a mile away. Vague and shapeless as were those vast, ghostly objects, I knew at once that they could only be elephants coming over the veld to the great pool to drink and bathe; and I at once determined to ascertain, if possible, how many of them there were, for I estimated that there must already be between twenty and thirty in sight, while others were momentarily emerging into view from out the veil of mist. Therefore, instead of mounting, and thus rendering myself more conspicuous than I was already, I remained on foot, and headed for the nearest clump of bush with Jack and the two dogs following at my heels, my intention being to conceal myself and my following behind that convenient screen and thence observe the movements and note the numbers of the approaching elephants. But I had scarcely advanced thirty paces when there arose a sudden commotion in the long grass almost under my feet, a terrific uproar of angry grunts and squeals rent the evening stillness, and a sounder of hog, consisting of a boar, three sows, and upwards of a score of half-grown young, which had been lying in the grass, rose to their feet and dashed noisily away, the sudden and violent disturbance startling Jack to such an extent and so completely upsetting his equanimity that he flung up his head, swerved away before I could grasp his bridle, and with a squeal of consternation took to his heels and dashed off full pelt in the direction of the distant wagon, while the two dogs, wild with excitement, went off in chase of the pigs, leaving me to my own devices.
To be left like that, alone and on foot, in strange country, a good five miles from the wagon, with the darkness of a moonless and misty night already gathering about me, was just a trifle awkward, perhaps, for I was both hungry and tired, and a five-mile walk through the long grass would be something beyond a joke. But with the river to guide me on the one hand, and the hills on the other, I could not very well miss my way, while as for the pony, he would probably return to the wagon, and the dogs would certainly find me as soon as they were tired of chasing the pigs; so, shouldering my gun, I stepped out toward the clump of bush for which I was bound, and presently took up a position within its heavy shadow where I should be pretty effectually concealed, while I could at the same time observe the movements of the elephants. Luckily, they were still so far away when the disturbance caused by the pigs occurred that they had taken no notice of it, but came steadily on, led by an enormous tusker; and presently they made their way well into the deepest part of the pool, where, after drinking, they stood for some time spraying their bodies with water spouted from their trunks. I did my best to count them, but before the entire herd had arrived upon the scene it had fallen quite dark, so that what with the darkness, the fog, and the constant movements of the animals, I found the task an utter impossibility. But I came to the conclusion that, from what I could see and hear, there must be nearly or quite a hundred of them.
Then, as I stood motionless and invisible in the deep shadows of the clump of bush, soft swishing sounds in the long grass grew increasingly frequent all round me, and in the misty starlight I caught frequent sudden glimpses of indeterminate forms gliding ghost-like toward the water, which was evidently the recognised drinking place for most of the game in the neighbourhood. And at length, when I had been standing there for about twenty minutes, two pairs of lambent orbs loomed up through the long grass, and Thunder and Juno came wriggling apologetically to my feet, having apparently made their way back to the spot where they had deserted me, and tracked me thence by scent.
I had by this time seen all that I wanted to see, or rather all that it was possible to see; therefore, with a low-murmured call to the two dogs, I set out to walk back through the misty landscape to the wagon, taking the stars for my guide, since the fog had by this time become so thick that it was difficult to distinguish anything beyond a hundred yards distant in any direction. Fortunately I had walked little more than a mile when shouts in Piet’s high-pitched voice reached my ears, and presently, guided by my shouts in reply, the Hottentot hove in sight, mounted upon Tempest and leading the errant Jack by the bridle—the latter having galloped straight to the wagon, as I had fully expected he would; and half an hour later we rode into camp without further adventure.
The first thing in order after our arrival was, of course, dinner, which I found quite ready when I rode into camp, the pièce de résistance consisting of the widgeon which I had shot, and which Piet had found still hanging across the pony’s withers when Master Jack arrived in camp, and had had sense enough to hand over to Jan to prepare. Then, after dinner, the elephant gun and my rifle were brought forth from the wagon and thoroughly cleaned by the light of the camp fire; and while this was being done Piet and I anxiously discussed a programme for the doings of the morrow, finally settled upon a more or less definite plan, and made all the arrangements necessary for carrying it into effect; after which the fire was made up, the oxen were driven in and tethered to the trek tow, as a precaution against possible attack by lions, and all hands turned in.