by L. T. Meade
*Chapter XIII.*
*GUY IS MISSING.*
More than a month had elapsed since the beginning of the trek. Theywere now, as Poeskop had informed them, within little more than a week'sjourney from the kloof of gold of which they were in search. It wasfull a week since they had left the Berg Damara village behind, and theyhad progressed well and steadily during the interval. One morning Mr.Blakeney and Tom had ridden out together in search of game. Guy wassitting on the wagon, for a change taking a rest, going through some ofhis specimens, and packing away odds and ends. They were trekkingacross a wide, open grass plain, whereon various herds of game, for themost part hartebeest, blue wildebeest, and Burchell's zebra, were to beseen grazing in the distance. At half-past twelve the oxen wereoutspanned, and a halt was made. Guy, having finished his work andeaten some lunch, was now, with the aid of the Ross stalking-glass,ranging the wide grass flats, watching the various troops of game, andwondering what kind of luck his uncle and cousin were having. It hadbeen a most beautiful morning. The hot, rather suffocating winds, whichhad been blowing persistently from the north for the last few days, hadvanished. A most cool and refreshing breeze now came up gently from thesouth, borne from the cool regions of the far Antarctic; and there was afeeling of vigour in the sparkling atmosphere which, albeit it was nowjust past high noon, made Guy's restless English blood eager for action.
As he looked, he suddenly spied through the clear telescope a singleostrich, stalking across the veldt. It was a long way off--five milescertainly--but he would go after it. Telling Seleti to saddle up hispony, Guy's preparations were soon made. After their experiences in thethirst-land, he was not going to take any more unnecessary risks, and hehad fastened to his saddle his water-bottle, coat, and a hunting casecontaining a little food. Thus equipped, he picked up his sportingMartini rifle--he had lent Tom his Mannlicher--and, swinging himselflightly into the saddle, rode off at a brisk canter, humming, in thelightness of his heart, a cheerful song. Poeskop gazed admiringly afterhim as he rode away.
"There goes a proper young baas!" he said to Jan Kokerboom, as they satat their meal. "'Tis a fine thing to be an Englishman." Jan admittedthat it was, and Guy's figure gradually receded into the distance.
Guy rode steadily for five or six miles, at the end of which hediscovered that the ostrich had been moving away north-westward, and wasstill two or three miles distant. Some light bush now hid it from view,and, taking advantage of this screen, Guy pressed on until he saw thathe was about to enter upon the plain again. Before issuing from thebush, he got off and carefully examined the country in front of him.Yes, there was the ostrich right enough, feeding quietly less than amile away. It was a splendid cock bird, and its white plumes, showingup finely against its black body colouring, made Guy long to possessthem. Walking his horse out of the covert, Guy now touched the goodbeast with his spur and galloped for the big bird, hoping to get a shotat it before it had discovered that the approaching object was anythingmore than a zebra. It was a wild, unfrequented veldt, and surely,argued Guy to himself, an ostrich in these parts would not be verysuspicious. Half a mile was covered. He was now within seven hundredyards of the bird; surely he was going to get a fair shot directly.
But even as he thus flattered himself, he was discovered. The ostrich'shead went up, and then, with a limp and a flutter of the wing feathers,the bird moved off. It went so lame that Guy at once perceived thatsomething was the matter with it. So much the better--he would have aneasy victory. Suddenly, fifty yards in front of him, there rose fromthe long grass veldt another ostrich, a hen bird manifestly. Nothingailed her, and she rushed away like a steam engine, covering wholeleagues, as it were, in her enormous strides. Guy reached the placewhence she had started, and saw, as he expected, a nest full of huge,shining eggs. At a swift glance, as he galloped by, he reckoned thatthere must have been twelve or fourteen of them. But he had no time toattend to them now; he would ride back that way, and take toll of themas he went to the wagon. For the moment all his energies and attentionwere centred on the maimed or sick bird in front of him, themagnificence of whose plumes he could now plainly discern.
He galloped, but still the limping creature managed, not only to keep astart, but even to increase its lead. In a while it squatted, as if ithad reached the end of its tether, and Guy thought now surely it washis. It was not so, however. As he approached within four hundredyards the great bird rose and pursued its way, stumbling, staggeringoccasionally, as if it would fall on its head, and flapping its wings,plainly in great distress. It was very annoying that, notwithstandingits apparent sickness, the bird could yet manage as it did to keepgoing. Mile after mile went by, and still the ostrich stumbled along,just beyond reasonable shooting distance. Once again, having gained afresh lead, in response to a long spurt on the part of Guy, it sat downagain; and once more Guy was most provokingly baulked of what he nowlooked upon as his legitimate booty--those magnificent plumes that wavedand dangled so annoyingly, just beyond reach of his trusty Martini.
The lad had now become downright angry. That bird should be his, if hehad to ride till evening; and so, about five hundred yards stillseparating them, the hunted and the hunter moved swiftly across theplain for another mile. Three o'clock went by--four o'clock--surely thebird would soon give in! But now it was running quite differently.There was no trace of the falterings and stumblings that he had so longnoticed. The cock was apparently quite recovered, and running asstrongly and as straight as had its mate. Then suddenly there flashedupon Guy's mind what had happened. The creature had been playing thefool with him all this time. It had simulated lameness and sickness,just as will a plover or a partridge, merely to decoy him away from itsnest, which he had by a lucky chance ridden by and discovered.
Guy smiled grimly to himself as the cleverness of the whole ruse wasborne in upon him. Nevertheless, he was wild with vexation; and settinghis teeth, he said to himself very softly that he would make it hot forthe shamming bird yet. And, indeed, he did so. He was now full twentymiles from camp; hills and kopjes rose not very far in front ofhim--hills which, now ruddy brown and plain to see, looked four hoursago blue in the distance. His pony was a good one, and in first-ratecondition. It was not by any means at the end of its resources, and Guycalled upon it for one more long and sustained effort. Two more mileswere past. Then Guy, to his joy, discovered that the ostrich was reallycoming back to him. The long and persistent chase under the hot sun hadat last told upon it. He had certainly gained one hundred and fiftyyards in the last hour.
Once more the great bird set itself going, and raced away. So rapid wasits flight that it seemed as if Guy and his nag were this time to becompletely distanced. But it was soon very plain what the bird wasaiming at. It was trying for an offing, so as to work its way round tothe right, and thus, as evening fell, regain its mate and her nest oncemore. Guy saw the manoeuvre, and, galloping across the wide arc thatthe ostrich was now making, managed, by dint of pressing his pony foranother and a final effort, to cut it off. The foolish bird stuckobstinately to its point; its pace was now slackening; and Guy succeededin getting within fifty yards of its line. Slipping off his pony, hefired as the big bird came by, and, aiming well forward, struck theostrich fair in the body. Even so tough a creature as this, the largestof all feathered fowl, could not resist the impact of a solid Martinibullet at fifty paces, and the bird suddenly fell dead in its tracks, amere quivering bundle of flesh and feathers.
It was a splendid prize. Guy, as he walked up and looked at the deadbird, saw at once that the plumage was magnificent. Knee-haltering hispony, and taking off its saddle, he now refreshed himself after hisdesperate ride, and set to work to divest his capture of its finestplumage. The white feathers were magnificent, and Guy could scarcelyadmire them sufficiently. Making neat bundles of the prime whites, theshorter whites, the beautiful black and white plumes, and the blackfeathers, he now saddled up agai
n, slung the longest feathers over hisback, fastened the rest to his saddle, and mounted.
The point now to be decided was, What should he do for the night? Heknew that the camp lay away behind him, far across the dry and wearyplain. But it was twenty long miles away; his pony was very tired andthirsty; and in the darkness now coming on he might easily lose hisdirection. Only a mile or two in front of him rose the line of lowhills. Here he was pretty sure to find water for his pony. On thewhole, it seemed better to make his way thither, water his pony, light agood fire, rest till early morning, and then ride back to camp. Havingthus decided, he rode his nag at a walk for the kopjes. Night wasfalling rapidly as he entered the hills. After following an open valleyfor a quarter of a mile, he came, as he expected, to a vlei of water,recruited by a fountain flowing from the hill above. Here heoff-saddled for the night. His pony drank till it cared to drink nomore. Meanwhile he cut some grass for fodder, tied his nag to a bush,collected wood for a fire, and, taking out the meat and bread he hadbrought with him, ate his supper.
His position was a well-chosen one. At his back he had an impenetrablescreen of thick bush and rock. He had seen no indication of lions as herode into the hills. A big fire blazed cheerfully in front of him, andplenty of wood lay handy so soon as its first strength died away. Thelad was very sleepy after his long ride. He lay for an hour or moregazing drowsily into the red blaze in front of him, turning over in hismind the events of the afternoon, and following with a feeling of placidcontentment the shifting scenes depicted in the heart of the fire byvarious pieces of burning wood. His pony munched its food contentedlyclose to his head. Gradually his eyes closed, his head sank deeper intothe saddle which formed his pillow, and he slept.
Guy had not enjoyed the blessed oblivion of slumber more than anhour--it seemed to him not a minute since he had closed his eyes--whenhe was suddenly and most rudely awakened. Strong hands gripped himfiercely on either side, and pinned him to the ground. With a cry hetried to spring to his feet. But his hands and feet were both securelyheld. He struggled violently, but his struggles were ineffectualagainst superior strength and numbers. Almost before he was fully awakehe was bound hand and foot, and lay helpless in the hands of hiscaptors. Then he had time to look about him. The light of the fireshowed him that his assailants were four in number, two white men andtwo black. The faces of the white men were known to him. It was withsomething like a shock of dismay that he realized the fact that he wasin the hands of Karl Engelbrecht and Antonio Minho, who were nowregarding him, as they stood over him, with unmistakable signs oftriumph on their unpleasant faces.
"What's all this about?" cried the lad angrily in Dutch. "And what doyou mean by attacking me in this way? You shall suffer for it, and thatbefore many hours are over."
"Softly, my young friend," answered Minho, a bantering smileilluminating his oily, yellow face. "You go a little too fast. You,and not Karl and myself, are likely to be the suffering party. We findyou are necessary to our plans, and so we invite you to come with us.If you keep a civil tongue and behave yourself, we shall treat youreasonably well. If you are troublesome and impertinent, you will becorrected."
"Ja," added the slower-tongued Boer, who had by this time found hisspeech. "We shall stand no nonsense from you. Keep your mouth shut,you schepsel, unless you are spoken to. We want no tantrums, and nonoise. If you don't behave, we shall teach you to, and that with thesjambok." As he spoke the great Boer touched significantly his ridingwhip of giraffe hide, just now stuck through his belt.
The English lad's eyes blazed with anger at this threat. If he had beenfree, he would at that instant have struck the Dutchman in the face,great as was the disparity in size and age between them. But he washelpless; and he saw, answering his own fiery look, such an expressionof malevolence and hate spread over the Boer's countenance, that hejudged it the wiser course to resume a less pugnacious demeanour. Afterall, pugnacity, when you are tied hand and foot, avails nothing.
"What do you want with me?" he went on, in a tone of assumedindifference, addressing himself to the Portuguese.
"We propose to take you with us on a short journey," returned Minho."We shall tell you more of our plans later on. Meanwhile, you hadbetter submit yourself quietly, and don't make a fuss, or it may beworse for you. There are more painful things even than sjamboks," headded, with a significant leer; "rifles and knives, for instance."
"Now, then," said Engelbrecht, in his thick guttural voice, "pick himup, you two."
The two strong natives, who were standing ready to obey their master'sorders, stepped forward, picked up Guy, and set him on his feet. Then,saddling and bridling his pony, they unfastened the raw-hide riem thatbound his feet, hoisted him to the saddle, and set off. All carriedrifles; the Boer marched at the pony's head, holding its bridle. Guy'shands were firmly tied, and there was not the faintest chance of escape.Half a mile farther up the valley they came to Karl Engelbrecht's camp.Here a wagon was outspanned, and there were more natives. The word wasnow given at once to trek. Guy was placed on the wagon, and his feetcarefully bound again, and in half an hour they set forth, steering acourse through the hills which would take them north-west, in adirection almost diametrically opposite to that in which the Englishparty was progressing. They trekked rapidly, and the oxen were pushedto their utmost speed.
Quitting the hills presently, they entered upon thin forest country, andthereafter their course was set, manifestly, for a chain of mountainswhich lay upon the horizon some fifteen miles distant. This range wasreached before evening set in. Entering a deep and secluded gorge,Engelbrecht's party ensconced themselves in a strong defensive position,commanding a narrow pass, the entrance to which they blocked temporarilyby rolling down boulders and rocks from the hillside. Here, with plentyof wood and water about them, and holding what they evidently lookedupon as an impregnable position, the shadowers believed themselves inabsolute security, and prepared to take the next step in the operationsupon which their energies and schemes were fixed.
Engelbrecht and Minho had, in the course of their pursuit, followedpretty closely all the movements of the party in front of them. TheBoer had with him clever and resourceful native servants. These heemployed as spies, sending them forth scouting in front of him. Thesemen, accustomed from their youth up to read accurately every sign andindication of veldt life, had traced with minute care every phase of thewanderings of the English trekkers. They had reported the varioushappenings--had observed the number of elephants slain in the big hunt,and had satisfied themselves and their master that the English leaderand his party were all, white and black, good hunters and excellentshots. They were known to be very well armed, and it was obvious thatany open attack upon them would mean severe fighting, in which theassailants, in all probability, would be beaten off or most seriouslymauled. Besides, it was not the policy of the two allied ruffians tomake any kind of attack before the gold treasure should have beendiscovered.
Upon the day before Guy had ridden out after the ostrich, Engelbrechthad made a forward trek, and placed his camp much closer to the Englishparty than he had hitherto ventured. Minho was against this move, butthe Boer was now growing somewhat reckless, and his persistency hadcarried the day. Guy's rifle had been heard that afternoon, spies werewatching his movements from the hills, and his entrance to the valleyand the place where he had camped for the night were carefully noted.The spies hastened back to the Boer's outspan, and reported all they hadseen.
Then ensued a discussion between Engelbrecht and the Portuguese as towhat course to pursue. Antonio Minho was in favour of letting the youngman return to his own camp unmolested. But Engelbrecht's patience, aswe have seen, was becoming somewhat exhausted. He was a man of action,and a plan had suddenly come into his mind which he at once unfolded.It was this. If they captured the English lad, they could hold him as ahostage, and make any terms they pleased with the gold seekers; nay,they might even force them to enter into a kind of partnership,
by whichthe gold, when discovered, should be parcelled out equally between thetwo expeditions. This seemed to the Boer, upon the whole, a better andsafer plan than attacking the Englishmen after they should have securedtheir treasure. After all, the attack might be repelled. Karl knewthese Englishmen could shoot, and they would, no doubt, fight hard; andeven if they were surprised and shot down in a night attack orambuscade, there might be awkward questions to answer thereafter.Lawless and bloodthirsty though the man was, he knew that, even fromamid the silence and solitudes of the desert, murder will out,especially the murder of white men. He still cherished bitter animosityand hatred against these intruders, especially against Mr. Blakeney, theman who had conquered him in the affair of fists at Mossamedes; but uponthe whole he judged that he would now have a safer chance of gratifyinghis revenge, by seizing Guy and using him as an instrument for squeezinghis rivals, than by more violent measures.
During an hour Karl and the Portuguese keenly debated the question,whether or not they should seize and carry away the lad, now sleeping inabsolute ignorance of their vicinity no more than half a mile away. Inthe end the plan seemed good to Minho. The capture was effected; andnow, having carried off Guy Hardcastle to a place which the Boer had inhis mind--a place which could be made impregnable against anyassault--they prepared to take their measures for squeezing Mr.Blakeney, and bringing him to the terms and demands upon which they hadfixed their minds.