The Rogue Elephant Part 15

"Jumpin' sandhills!" began Charlie in wonder. "What on earth--"

"Get up here!" roared the General at them. "Boys! Quick!"

Without pausing to inquire further the boys jumped for the camp. A moment later they stood gazing around in amazement, inquiring what was wrong. For answer the explorer pointed to the river below. The boys whirled, then a single cry burst from their lips and they stood astounded, unable to believe their eyes.

"Ach, himmel! Vot a sight!" broke from the doctor.

There, bending down the tough reeds like gra.s.s, a mighty herd of buffalo was coming slowly forward, the first two or three just emerging into the clearing. All together, there must have been sixty or seventy of them--but what buffalo they were!

Great, s.h.a.ggy fellows, nearly a third larger than those the boys had seen and shot during the first part of the trip, they seemed like some part of a wild dream. It flashed through Charlie's mind that it must have been such buffalo as this that Mowbray had seen, or rather, that had scattered his Arabs.

Slowly the great ma.s.s pushed forward, heads upturned. Plainly they had scented the camp, for they were down-wind, and intended to investigate.

Both boys realized that they were in grave danger, as this became apparent.

"Think they'll dare to charge us?" murmured Charlie, a little pale.

"Can't tell," returned the explorer, staring. "Great Scott, what animals! No wonder Mowbray's men lit out for safety! If they come on, we're goners."

That they plainly meant to come on was soon evident. The foremost paused to sniff and paw the body of the slain boar, and to gaze up at the waiting men, then those crowding behind shoved them onward. Two or three went on to one side, but the others began the ascent of the little hill without hesitation.

"We'll have to stop them," said Schoverling, his face set. Charlie looked around to find Jack at his elbow, gun ready, black eyes glittering, and cheeks flushed darkly. Behind were grouped the Indian gun-bearers, fully recognizing the danger. The Masai, chattering but with arrow on the string, stood near the wagon.

"Bakari!" called the explorer quickly. At the sound of his voice the giant buffalo halted for a moment, and the boys yelled in hope that they would retire. But the hope proved groundless, as they came forward with slow steps again.

"Bakari, put some of your men up into that tree--keep those bulls away from the wagon and oxen at all costs," ordered the General. The Masai nodded, and a moment later five of his men went up nimbly into the big mimosa, and threaded their way out along the branches until they stood over the heads of the boys. The wagon and oxen were twenty feet behind, and the remaining natives grouped before them.

"All right, boys," said Schoverling quietly. "Don't fire at the head, remember, unless you are sure of the eye. We've got to stop them at once."

Charlie and Jack lifted their guns. The tremendous beasts were a scant fifty yards below, but more were crowding up from the reeds every instant. The four white men spread out at intervals of a few yards, the gun-bearers between. Von Hofe, shotgun in hand, stood on the long wagon-tongue with Gholab Singh.

The three heavy Hammonds rang out with a crash. Charlie's bull went down, as did two more, and a wild bellow of fury went up from the entire herd. Instantly the second barrels streamed forth their deadly cordite, and a ma.s.s of kicking, struggling animals lay below them, while from the Masai streamed forth spears and arrows.

"Hope that holds them," said Schoverling, as they reloaded rapidly. The gun-bearers, as good gun-bearers should, had not yet fired but stood waiting till the last extremity.

"By golly!" yelled Jack, bringing up his rifle hurriedly. Instead of being intimidated, the shots and powder-reek seemed to render the herd more furious yet. Loud snortings, swis.h.i.+ng tails and pawing hoofs testified to their rage, and the bodies of the slain were trampled into a b.l.o.o.d.y ma.s.s as the herd swept on.

Down went the foremost again, impeding those behind, and Schoverling nodded to the Indians as he reloaded. The 30-30s spoke out, each of the old soldiers wasting not a shot, but firing the five cartridges in his magazine slowly and methodically. The scene below was terrible, and the wild yells of the Masai rose high over the snorting and bellowing. But great as was the slaughter, the immense herd poured up bodily, until they were but thirty yards down the hill, the bodies of the killed trampled underfoot, those behind pressing the others forward in mad rage.

Now there was no let-up. Charlie loaded and fired as fast as he was able, as did Jack and the rest. Another volley from the Indians helped, and from the wagon von Hofe scattered bird-shot wildly, but Gholab's little rifle-ball picked more than one bull neatly through the eye to the brain.

From above the Masai streamed down their arrows into the backs of the giant brutes, until the wounded ones turned and lashed out at their fellows. Shot after shot poured down into the crowded ma.s.s of buffalo, and a moment later Charlie knew that the fight was all but won. Those in the van had gone down, those behind were rearing and trampling, fighting each other in desperate confusion, forgetting what lay ahead.

Suddenly a yell of terror from behind startled Charlie and he saw Jack whirl with a shout. While they had been fighting the foe in front, a single bull, led perhaps by some instinct, had quietly ascended the hill from the rear and was shaking his head angrily at Bakari and his remaining five men.

As the boys turned, the Masai unhesitatingly poured spears at him, and with a bellow of pain he charged them. They faced him gallantly, but before Jack or Charlie could fire, one went high in air and another was trampled under foot. Gholab leaped from the wagon with his small rifle, and sprang forward; but, taking a desperate chance, Jack had fired at the brute's shoulder. The buffalo turned and made for the little party, and as he did so Gholab Singh shot him through the eye at ten yards.

A yell of delight from Guru drew Charlie back to the front. Here it was evident that the buffalo were retiring, only two solitary bulls charging through the b.l.o.o.d.y, tangled ma.s.s of hoofs and horns. One of these the General dropped, and Amir Ali attended to the other. A moment later the herd drew away, sullenly and fighting among themselves still, to the shelter of the reeds, where the snortings and bellowings gradually died away in the distance.

With the lifting of the terrific strain, Charlie staggered and caught Schoverling's arm, while Jack sank down beside him with drawn face. Guru and his comrades leaped down the hill to kill the wounded, kicking bulls.

"There, boys, you take it easy," said the explorer, his voice just a trifle shaken. "That was pretty bad for a minute, but we pulled out all right."

"Better see to the Masai," said Charlie faintly.

Schoverling looked up, noting for the first time the slain bull by the wagon. The boys watched him leap to the side of von Hofe, who was kneeling over the injured men.

"I've had about enough of this country," grunted Charlie, rising shakily as his weakness pa.s.sed. "Feel better?"

"Some." Jack, also unsteady under the reaction of their great mental and physical strain, got to his feet. "It was a tight squeeze, old chap!"

"You bet. Let's see how bad the men were hurt."

They joined the group. The gored man had an ugly wound in his side. The other had hung to the horns of the buffalo, and beyond a slash in the arm and a few broken ribs, was in no serious danger. The two were placed in the wagon, where the doctor gave them much needed attention.

"I'm going to get away from here," said the explorer. "Bakari, you did n.o.bly! Gholab, Guru, and the rest of you, I can only say that I am proud of you--more proud than ever. Shake hands!"

Smiling broadly, the bearded Indians obeyed, after which the boys shook hands also.

"It was good work, sahib," declared the Sikh gravely. "We are men, all of us. Such a fight will make great telling when we get back!"

Von Hofe received his full share of the praise, for his bird-shot had contributed no little to the rout of the giant buffaloes. He, however, was already busy with his camera, and only the a.s.surance of Schoverling that they could get a skin at another time got him to his horse. Half an hour later they were away from the scene of the battle, to which the kites and vultures were already flocking through the sky.

"We won't go far," announced the leader. "I don't mind confessing that I'm pretty badly shaken up and want to rest for the remainder of the day. We got out of that sc.r.a.pe almighty well, boys, if you want to know it!"

"Guess we did," returned Charlie with an uneasy glance around. "I won't forget that for many a long day! If the Indians hadn't stood by us--"

He did not need to finish, and the explorer nodded. Two miles farther on, and a mile from the river; they halted beside a little creek. They had learned the value of a big tree, and the oxen were outspanned around a spreading fig-tree of gigantic size. The Masai built a zareba around, and for the rest of the afternoon they stayed quietly recuperating from the terrible exertions of that battle. In the evening great fires were built and the traps set out again.

Nothing disturbed them that night. They slept in their blankets under the shelter of the giant tree, but as they rolled up--von Hofe being on guard for the first three hours--Jack whispered to Charlie.

"If we struck a herd of them fellows while we were down on low ground--good-bye!"

"You shut up and go to sleep," retorted Charlie. "Every time I close my eyes I think of those tossin' heads. I don't want to dream about them."

"Bet a cookie you will," chuckled Jack. "Remember how their eyes rolled, and the first ones we shot got all trampled out of shape, and--"

Charlie reached over with a mimosa thorn and ended the discussion suddenly. But, nevertheless, his dreams that night were none too pleasant, and he woke more than once, almost feeling a herd of those giant buffaloes grinding him beneath their hoofs.

CHAPTER XIV

THE LAKE OF MYSTERY

"This stream must be the outlet of the warm lake, all right," said Schoverling the next morning as they sat at breakfast. "There seems to be low hills ahead of us, but I think the wagon can get along."