Harry Castlemon

“ They had doubtless been sleeping away the day in a little clump of thorn bushes that grew in the open plain, about a hundred yards from the grove, and having been aroused from their nap by the yelping of the dogs, they had come out of their retreat to take part in the hunt.
"Tao! tao!" shouted the Kaffir, who wheeled his horse and was off at breakneck speed.
Scarcely realizing what he was doing, Oscar sat motionless in his saddle and watched the chase. The dogs lost no time in withdrawing from the race, and the buffalo and the lions were left to settle the matter among themselves. ”

“ I am going alone with my own establishment, which I shall purchase at Durban."
"I am going in the same way," answered Oscar.
"Aw! But I have had experience, my dear fellow, and you have not," said the colonel. "I once belonged to the Honorable East India Company's service, and have hunted tigers in the wilds of Hindustan—tigers, do you hear?"
"And I have hunted grizzly bears in the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains," replied Oscar, who could scarcely refrain from laughing.
"But a bear is not to be compared to a tiger in strength and ferocity, you know, young fellow." ”

“ The colonel stared at him in surprise, and in order to obtain a better view of Oscar's face he brought his eyeglass into use. He had never dreamed that this quiet, modest boy, who during the long voyage from London docks to Port Natal had kept almost entirely to himself, could possess so much determination. He was inclined to be angry over it, too.
"Aw!" said he in a tone of disgust; "whatever may be your other failings, young man, you certainly are not wanting in self-conceit. You have a most exalted opinion of yourself. ”

“ Many a brave and experienced hunter has been completely demoralized by them.
Oscar's blood went rushing back upon his heart, leaving his face as pale as death itself, and his hair seemed to stand on end.
The natives ceased their conversation and lay down close beside their fire, drawing their skin cloaks over their heads; the horses snorted and trembled with fear; the oxen pulled at the trek-tow; the dogs whined and sought refuge under the wagon, and McCann groaned behind the fore-chest. ”

“ Covering the head of the largest hyena with the sight, Oscar sent a bullet crashing through his brain, whereupon the others incontinently took to their heels, and were out of sight before the young hunter could get a chance to put in the second barrel.
Have you ever noticed how great a commotion so small an animal as a squirrel can make among the dead leaves when he has been brought down from his lofty perch by a bullet through the head? If so you can have a very faint idea of the rumpus that hyena kicked up in that thicket of thorn bushes. ”

“ Accidents of all kinds were of almost daily occurrence, and that was no more than one could expect in a country in which the roads are left to take care of themselves, and are passable only for the strongest of wagons, drawn by teams the most powerful.
Before the foot of the Drackenberg Mountains was reached Oscar had fashioned three new dissel-booms with his own hands, and the trek-tow had been repaired more than once. But there was something of which he no longer stood in fear, and that was treachery. His men were all capable, honest, and willing, and never shirked their share of the work. ”

“ Since crossing the Drackenberg Oscar had had but little intercourse with the Boers he had met along his route. Knowing them to be a stupid, pig-headed race, deaf to reason and blind to everything except self-interest, he wanted nothing to do with them if he could help it. ”

“ Can you handle a rifle?"
"I can't remember the day when I couldn't," replied the man in a tone Oscar did not like.
"I want not only a good cook, but also an after-rider who is a dead shot, and who can be depended on in any emergency," continued Oscar. "I am not going into the wilderness on a pleasure excursion. I am going there to hunt, and the sooner I get through with the work that has been laid out for me to do the sooner I can go home. I want a man who is not afraid of work, and who is not all the time trying to see how little he can do to earn his food and wages." ”

“ The boy had heard a good many flattering remarks during the quarter of an hour that had elapsed since the guests began to arrive, and he had wished more than once that he was back in the foot-hills, with nobody but Big Thompson for company.
He could hardly make up his mind which was the most trying ordeal—facing a grizzly when a human life depended on his nerve, or hearing himself praised by people who, being unacquainted with him, expressed their sentiments in his presence without the least hesitation. ”

“ He looked down at his sleek oxen, which were now being inspanned in the stable-yard (oxen are never "yoked" in Africa, they are always "inspanned") , and smiled complacently as he replied:
"That's only a matter of opinion, colonel."
"No, sir; it's a fact, and nobody's opinion can alter it," said the colonel, who seemed to grow angry again when he looked at Oscar's well-conditioned cattle and noted the energy and willingness with which his men went about their work. "It is perfectly ridiculous to send a boy like you out to this detestable country on such a wild-goose chase. ”

“ That was the bargain I made."
"We'll not say anything about that," replied Oscar with some impatience. "You bargained to act as my after-rider, too, and you have never done it. If you want to stay, all right. You can keep yourself employed about the camp, since you are afraid to go out of it; but mind you, now, no more treachery. Is my tea ready?"
Oscar worked late over the leopard that night, and when his task was finished lay down in his cot and went to sleep, lulled by the roaring of the lions and the laughing of the hyenas. ”

“ CHAPTER XXV. MORE SPECIMENS.
"I am afraid I shall never win much of a reputation as an African hunter," was the first thought that passed through Oscar Preston's mind after he had recovered from his astonishment and alarm. "The longer I stay here the less I seem to know about things. I heard those hyenas laughing very plainly—as plainly as I did last night, when they found poor Major's body—and yet I was foolish enough to think that the noise was made by the koodoo." ”

“ Oscar took a step forward, and there was a look in his eye that McCann had never seen there before.
"Don't try my patience too severely," said he. "If you do you will be a different-looking man when I get through with you. There's no surgeon in this country, and I don't know whether the Boers could patch you up or not."
The threat implied in these words took all desire for a fight out of McCann. He sank back on the dissel-boom, rested his elbows on his knees, and fastened his eyes on the ground. ”

“ If there is any faith to be put in appearances, he was pretty mad about something. His face was flushed, his shaggy eyebrows were drawn down in a fierce scowl, and even his bushy side-whiskers seemed to bristle with rage.
"Ah, colonel, I am surprised as well as delighted to see you back here," said the landlord, rubbing his hands and bowing [Pg 21] obsequiously. "Is there any way in which I can serve you?"
The angry man paid no sort of attention to the greeting.
He came over to Oscar's end of the parlor and stamped up and down the floor, thrashing his boots with his riding-whip. ”

“ Having put all his books and papers where he thought they would be safe from McCann's prying eyes, Oscar got out of the wagon, walked up to his own fire, and took possession of his camp-chair.
"Now, McCann," said he, "I want a plain understanding with you, and after I have had it I shall never again refer to this matter. Not being blind, I have seen for a long time that you are not contented here, and if you want to leave me and go with those Boers I am quite willing that you should do so. All I ask is that you will leave openly and aboveboard, like a man." ”

“ He had taken his prey from under the very noses of the sleeping dogs, and neither they nor the horses or oxen knew that there was anything wrong until they were alarmed by the bleating of the goat.
"He must have been a powerful as well as a cunning beast," thought Oscar as he examined the broken rope, which was almost as large as a clothes line. "That goat must have weighed sixty or seventy pounds. ”

“ After thinking a moment Oscar dismounted, and making one end of a hitching strap fast around the hound's neck, tied the other to one of the buck's horns.
"There!" said he as he galloped away with his after-rider. "The koodoo is safe from the vultures; but whether or not the hound is entirely safe I don't know. There's no telling how many fierce animals there may be hidden away in that grove, watching our movements. Hurry up, Thompson! We've lots of work to do, and it will be dark before we reach the wagon." ”

“ I know that a stranger cannot approach a tame ostrich with impunity, for the bird will knock him down and strike him with his feet; but a wild one would rather run than fight."
"I know that, too; but still you may find something in the nest that would rather fight than run. Do you see that creature over there?"
As McCann spoke he directed his employer's attention to a bird, considerably larger and heavier than any crane Oscar had ever seen, which was stalking along the plain about a hundred yards away, stopping now and then to examine some object on the ground. ”

“ The hyenas will rob you of your goats, the leopards will show a partiality for your dogs, and the lions will drive off your horses, and perhaps gobble you or one of your men up for dessert."
"If they do it will be our own fault," answered Oscar, who began to believe that his after-rider was not quite as courageous as he said he was. "It is our business to look out for things. Here is the wagon. Outspan under those trees, and have supper ready for me in an hour."
"You are never going out to hunt!" exclaimed McCann. "It will be pitch dark before you know it." ”

“ Why didn't you bring your oxen up yesterday?"
"My dear fellow, didn't I tell you that my servants have all deserted me?" answered the colonel.
"Then, why didn't you go in search of them yourself?"
"Because I don't choose to do work that others are paid to do for me."
"You'll have to act as your own servant if you get anything done," said Oscar. "Suppose you send Roberts down to the blacksmith shop after a jack-screw."
This proposition fairly staggered Roberts, who looked first at Oscar and then at his own spotless livery. ”

“ As you are an American, they will be particularly hard on you; and I warn you that eternal vigilance is the price you must pay for your success."
"Captain Sterling told me that," said Oscar. "He also informed me that the object of these swindlers is to disgust the traveller, so that he will sell off his supplies and outfit at a sacrifice."
"That's just it," replied the editor. "Even the men of whom you purchase your oxen, wagon, and goods will set to work to defeat you in order that they may buy the things back for less than they sold them for. ”

“ I know that you will go through with your undertaking as he did with his, for I can see by your face that you are a brave lad."
"If you were an Irishman I should say that was blarney," thought Oscar. "You've got an axe to grind."
"You'll be needing cattle and salted horses," continued Mr. Dibbits, "and if I could be of any assistance now——"
"I thought there was something of that sort in the wind," said Oscar to himself; then aloud he answered, "I have everything I need, thank you; and even if I hadn't I should not think of dealing with any of those men who are now standing at your bar. ”

“ A Boer is very fond of coffee, and although there are few of them who will spend any of their own money for it, they are quite willing to drink it when it is provided at the expense of somebody else.
Oscar's guests emptied their cups almost as fast as Paddy O'Brian could fill them, and poured the hot liquid down their throats in a way that made that worthy individual open his eyes.
"Now, Thompson," said Oscar when the huge coffee-pot had been drained of its last drop, "tell them that if they will help me pull my wagon over the Drackenberg I will help them pull theirs over." ”

“ If you go beyond that place you will disappear as completely from the gaze of the civilized world as though you had ceased to live. You will see nobody except your servants, and perhaps a few wandering bushmen, who will be glad to give you a drink of water from their ostrich shells in return for a few mouthfuls of dried meat. ”

“ In point of cunning and rapacity, the spotted hyena surpasses every beast of prey in Africa. I except nothing. An animal that can take a child out of its mother's arms when both are asleep, and get away with it without alarming anybody, would not have much difficulty in stealing a goat from under a wagon, would he?"
Oscar could only look the surprise that these words occasioned.
"What I am about to tell you I know to be a fact, although you will scarcely credit it," continued Mr. Evans. ”

“ Come down and dish up my supper, and see that Little Gray has an extra measure of mealies. If I wasn't so far away from the settlements I would turn him adrift to-morrow," added Oscar to himself as he dismounted and turned his horse over to the Kaffir, who just then came into camp. "He has not yet earned the fifteen pounds advance I gave him, but I would rather lose that amount of money than have such a coward about me."
"He's getting almost too bossy for a boy," soliloquized McCann as he descended from his perch. ”