John Buchan

Name: Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John
Author: John Buchan

Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (1910)

Summary

“Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John”, published in 1910, is a work by John Buchan. It explores elements such as Berg, Laputa and shirt.

Quotes from Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (John Buchan)

John Buchan, Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (1910)

“ First came the howl of a wolf, to be answered by others from every quarter of the compass. This serenade went on for a bit, till the jackals chimed in with their harsh bark. I had been caught by darkness before this when hunting on the Berg, but I was not afraid of wild beasts. That is one terror of the bush which travellers' tales have put too high. It was true that I might meet a hungry lion, but the chance was remote, and I had my pistol. Once indeed a huge animal bounded across the road a little in front of me. ”

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Source: Wikisource

John Buchan, Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (1910)

“ It was Colin who first caught sight of my pursuers. He was staring at a rift in the trees, and suddenly gave a short bark. I looked and saw two men, running hard, cross the grass and dip into the bed of the stream. A moment later I had a glimpse of figures on the edge of the forest, moving fast to the mouth of the glen. The pursuit had not followed me; it had waited to cut me off. Fool that I was, I had forgotten the wonders of Kaffir telegraphy. It had been easy for Laputa to send word thirty miles ahead to stop any white man who tried to cross the Berg. ”

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Source: Wikisource

John Buchan, Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (1910)

“ I took the rubies, and stowed them below my shirt and next my skin. I remember taking stock of my equipment and laughing at the humour of it. One of the heels was almost twisted off my boots, and my shirt and breeches were old at the best and ragged from hard usage. The whole outfit would have been dear at five shillings, or seven-and-six with the belt thrown in. Then there was the Portugoose's pistol, costing, say, a guinea; and last, the Prester's collar, worth several millions.
What was more important than my clothing was my bodily strength. ”

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Source: Wikisource

John Buchan, Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (1910)

“ Still it was only wise to leave the track which I would be assumed to have taken, for Laputa would guess I had fled back the way to Blaauwildebeestefontein. I turned into the bush, which here was thin and sparse like whins on a common.
The Berg must be my goal. Once on the plateau I would be inside the white man's lines. Down here in the plains I was in the country of my enemies. Arcoll meant to fight on the uplands when it came to fighting. The black man might rage as he pleased in his own flats, but we stood to defend the gates of the hills. ”

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Source: Wikisource

John Buchan, Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (1910)

“ This stream must be the Little Letaba, and I must cross it if I would get to the mountains. I remembered that Majinje's kraal stood on its left bank, and higher up in its valley in the Berg 'Mpefu lived. At all costs the kraals must be avoided. Once across it I must make for the Letsitela, another tributary of the Great Letaba, and by keeping the far bank of that stream I should cross the mountains to the place on the plateau of the Wood Bush which Arcoll had told me would be his headquarters. ”

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Source: Wikisource

John Buchan, Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (1910)

“ He might surround and capture the patrol, or he might evade it; the vow prevented him from fighting it. On the whole I was clear that he would ignore it and push on for the rendezvous. All this would take time, and the business of the priest would have to wait. When Henriques came to he would no doubt have a story to tell, and the scouts would be on my trail. I wished I had shot the Portugoose while I was at the business. It would have been no murder, but a righteous execution. ”

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Source: Wikisource

John Buchan, Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (1910)

“ That shy wild things should stampede like this could only mean that they had been thoroughly scared. Now obviously the thing that scared them must be on this side of the Letaba. This must mean that Laputa's army, or a large part of it, had not crossed at Dupree's Drift, but had gone up the stream to some higher ford. ”

John Buchan

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Quotes from Prester John — XIV: I Carry the Collar of Prester John (John Buchan)

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