At length the return journey began. Tenpenny Nail and Blue Fly rode at the head of the party with the Colonel's led horse between them, the animal having been brought from the Kraal.
Then came Herbert Narfield's personal servant carrying the spare rifles. Behind him were four stalwart natives from Sibenga's Kraal, bearing a hastily-contrived litter on which lay the injured man. Four relief bearers followed, with Van der Wyck to keep an eye on that section of the procession.
Next came more natives bearing the trophies of the hunt. That their task was an uncongenial one there was little doubt. They wanted to remain behind to participate in the feast to celebrate the slaying of the mammoth animals, a feast in which elephant flesh formed a prominent article of diet.
So, in order to keep the bearers to their work, Colin and Desmond rode at the rear of the procession, with their loaded rifles ready to fire at any savage beast that might be lurking in the scrub in order to pounce upon the defenceless bearers.
Presently the party gained the so-called road that led from Tabora to Kilembonga—the same that Colin and Tiny had traversed during their memorable, adventurous, and strenuous journey on their arrival at the estate.
For the greater part it was little better than an ox-track, with a number of stiff gradients. On either side were dense masses of trees, frequently meeting overhead and forming a dark tunnel through which the moonbeams failed to penetrate.
Once they discovered that they had to go, the natives dropped their sullen attitude. True children of nature, their moods were capable of sudden and contrasted changes, and soon they were yelling and shouting at the top of their voices, singing songs in praise of the Great One and his white brothers, who had fought and conquered the despoilers of their village.
The first streaks of dawn were showing low down on the horizon when the injured Colonel Narfield was carried through the gate of Kilembonga.
Tenpenny Nail and the Colonel's servant led the horses to the stables, while Blue Fly hurried off to give instructions to the native servants to provide a meal for the bearers. Van der Wyck, still mounted, awaited the arrival of the ivory.
"Colin and Desmond are a long way behind," he observed to the Colonel, who had refused to be taken into the house until the tusks were safely locked up and the natives fed, paid, and dismissed.