登陆注册
5228000000051

第51章 CHAPTER XI THE SHOT IN THE KLOOF(3)

It was past ten o'clock that night when I got back to the camp, where I found Hans the Hottentot about to start to look for me, with two of the Zulus, and told him that I had been detained by accidents to the wagon.

The Vrouw Prinsloo was still up also, waiting to hear of my arrival.

"What was the accident, Allan?" she asked. "It looks as though there had been a bullet in it," and she pointed to the bloody smear upon my cheek.

I nodded.

"Pereira's?" she asked again.

I nodded a second time.

"Did you kill him?"

"No; I let him go. It would have been said that I murdered him," and I told her what had happened.

"Ja, Allan," she remarked when I had finished. "I think you were wise, for you could have proved nothing. But oh! for what fate, I wonder, is God Almighty saving up that stinkcat. Well, I will go and tell Marie that you are back safe, for her father won't let her out of the hut so late; but nothing more unless you wish it."

"No, Tante; I think nothing more, at any rate at present."

Here I may state, however, that within a few days Marie and everyone else in the camp knew the story in detail, except perhaps Marais, to whom no one spoke of his nephew. Evidently Vrouw Prinsloo had found herself unable to keep secret such an example of the villainy of her aversion, Pereira. So she told her daughter, who told the others quickly enough, though I gathered that some of them set down what had happened to accident. Bad as they knew Pereira to be, they could not believe that he was guilty of so black a crime.

About a week later the rest of us started from Marais's camp, a place that, notwithstanding the sadness of many of its associations, I confess I left with some regret. The trek before us, although not so very long, was of an extremely perilous nature. We had to pass through about two hundred miles of country of which all we knew was that its inhabitants were the Amatonga and other savage tribes. Here I should explain that after much discussion we had abandoned the idea of retracing the route followed by Marais on his ill-fated journey towards Delagoa.

Had we taken this it would have involved our crossing the terrible Lobombo Mountains, over which it was doubtful whether our light cattle could drag the wagons. Moreover, the country beyond the mountains was said to be very bare of game and also of Kaffirs, so that food might be lacking. On the other hand, if we kept to the east of the mountains the veld through which we must pass was thickly populated, which meant that in all probability we could buy grain.

What finally decided us to adopt this route, however, was that here in these warm, low-lying lands there would be grass for the oxen. Indeed, now, at the beginning of spring, in this part of Africa it was already pushing. Even if it were not, the beasts could live upon what herbage remained over from last summer and on the leaves of trees, neither of which in this winter veld ever become quite lifeless, whereas on the sere and fire-swept plains beyond the mountains they might find nothing at all. So we determined to risk the savages and the lions which followed the game into these hot districts, especially as it was not yet the fever season or that of the heavy rains, so that the rivers would be fordable.

I do not propose to set out our adventures in detail, for these would be too long. Until the great one of which I shall have to tell presently, they were of an annoying rather than of a serious nature. Travelling as we did, between the mountains and the sea, we could not well lose our way, especially as my Zulus had passed through that country; and when their knowledge failed us, we generally managed to secure the services of local guides. The roads, however, or rather the game tracks and Kaffir paths which we followed, were terrible, for with the single exception of that of Pereira for part of the distance, no wagon had ever gone over them before. Indeed, a little later in the year they could not have been travelled at all. Sometimes we stuck in bogs out of which we had to dig the wheels, and sometimes in the rocky bottoms of streams, while once we were obliged literally to cut our way through a belt of dense bush from which it took us eight days to escape.

Our other chief trouble came from the lions, whereof there were great numbers in this veld. The prevalence of these hungry beasts forced us to watch our cattle very closely while they grazed, and at night, wherever it was possible, to protect them and ourselves in "bombast," or fences of thorns, within which we lit fires to scare away wild beasts.

Notwithstanding these precautions, we lost several of the oxen, and ourselves had some narrow escapes.

Thus, one night, just as Marie was about to enter the wagon where the women slept, a great lion, desperate with hunger, sprang over the fence.

She leapt away from the beast, and in so doing caught her foot and fell down, whereon the lion came for her. In another few seconds she would have been dead, or carried off living.

But as it chanced, Vrouw Prinsloo was close at hand. Seizing a flaming bough from the fire, that intrepid woman ran at the lion and, as it opened its huge mouth to roar or bite, thrust the burning end of the bough into its throat. The lion closed its jaws upon it, then finding the mouthful not to its taste, departed even more quickly than it had come, uttering the most dreadful noises, and leaving Marie quite unhurt.

Needless to say, after this I really worshipped the Vrouw Prinsloo, though she, good soul, thought nothing of the business, which in those days was but a common incident of travel.

I think it was on the day after this lion episode that we came upon Pereira's wagon, or rather its remains. Evidently he had tried to trek along a steep, rocky bank which overhung a stream, with the result that the wagon had fallen into the stream-bed, then almost dry, and been smashed beyond repair.

同类推荐
  • 開原縣志

    開原縣志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 明良论四

    明良论四

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 千手千眼观自在菩萨广大圆满无碍

    千手千眼观自在菩萨广大圆满无碍

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 迁都建藩议

    迁都建藩议

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 相和歌辞·王昭君

    相和歌辞·王昭君

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 飘摇的白大褂(2)

    飘摇的白大褂(2)

    江东医科大学附属仁华医院副院长武明训从美国请回了钟立行,这个美国一流的外科医生,就是从仁华医院出去的。他的妹妹被一场车祸夺走了生命,使他黯然神伤。他回采只是想散散心而已,没想到却赶上了仁华医院一例重大手术——一个在车祸中头部重伤、内出血、脾脏摘除、心脏停止跳动两小时四十分钟的患者,被他奇迹般地重新救活了。然而,就在此时,一名缺钾病人却眼睁睁地死在了急救室里。医生、护士均不在场,也没有进行血钾化验,这算不算失职,算不算医疗事故?
  • 奥运腾飞:2008年的中国

    奥运腾飞:2008年的中国

    研究国史是神圣的事业,一定要投入真感情。也就是说,不仅仅要把研究国史看成是一项工作,有科学严谨的研究方法和研究态度,更要把研究国史看成是一份神圣的事业,一份值得投入精力、倾注感情的事业。有了这份深厚的感情,才能有研究的动力和出发点,也才能取得经得住时间检验的科研成果。《读点国史:辉煌年代国史丛书》由一批国史研究领域的专家担纲撰写,他们有专业背景,曾承担过国家级重大课题,也都有个人的研究著述,形成学风严谨、功力扎实的品格。我相信这套丛书是他们用心写就的。
  • 愿赌服输

    愿赌服输

    爱情是一场赌博,愿赌就要服输。在这个随时有爱情和希望产生和破灭的年代里,我想把美好的、龌龊的、与爱情有关的情感融合在一起写成一个故事,歌颂爱情也诅咒爱情,唤起人们对美好爱情的一种信仰。人有时候是需要一种信仰的,信仰给人力量,就像一棵树,明知道自己不会再长高,但总坚持给自己浇一点水,为了保持那抹绿色。
  • 蠢物小萌妃

    蠢物小萌妃

    从小就当男人来养的她,是一个名副其实的王爷,还是一个嚣张绝世的女王爷。没事的时候,带上一群如狼似虎的丫鬟上街,调戏帅哥,霸占美男,谁敢龇牙,就揍谁一头包。唉,坐吃等死日子真的好惬意。。。。。
  • 噬血盟:撒娇没有用哦

    噬血盟:撒娇没有用哦

    阶级孕出魔鬼魔鬼打破平衡如果你是我会如何报复这个世界?——将离
  • 三事忠告

    三事忠告

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 异度穿越

    异度穿越

    一场意外成功的仪式将他的灵魂带到了一片前所未知的世界。在这里,不仅仅只有神秘的异能与魔法,还有专门为了针对各位面“入侵者”而发展到巅峰的位面穿越技术。
  • 带着系统闯魔炮

    带着系统闯魔炮

    2017年某月某天,宅男刘枫待在家里玩着300英雄,使用高町奈叶成功拿到七杀后,自己家被陨石砸中,成功扑街。于是乎他死亡后,穿越到了魔法少女奈叶的世界(滑稽脸),成功获得无良系统,并变身为史上最难惹的三年级小学生——高町奈叶。且看刘枫如何玩转魔炮位面,从此开启人身巅峰,走上坑人与被坑的滑稽之路!PS:这是一本正经的小说!(严肃脸)书友群:579931774,欢迎大家的加入哦~
  • 快到游戏里来

    快到游戏里来

    有付出就有回报,这是一个惊奇且公平的游戏,希望你喜欢!
  • 很老很老的老偏方:护肤难题一扫光

    很老很老的老偏方:护肤难题一扫光

    偏方来源:传统经典医药典籍,经过民间千年验证和作者多年医疗实践。撰写原则: 既见效,又安全;既管用,又省钱。所治难题:美白老偏方:日晒、辐射、睡眠不足等因素引起的肤色暗沉、发黄等。保湿老偏方:缺水引起的皮肤干燥、粗糙、起皮屑、油腻、过敏等。祛痘老偏方:下巴长痘、鼻子长痘、额头长痘、痘印、黑头等。祛斑老偏方:雀斑、黄褐斑、妊娠斑、晒斑、黑斑、老年斑等。抗皱老偏方:额头纹、眉间纹、眼下纹、鱼尾纹、法令纹、颈纹等。其他美容老偏方:毛孔粗大、皮肤松弛、大饼脸、黑眼圈、眼袋等。