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But when she saw it, Sihamba turned upon him so fiercely that he feared her more than the watchman, and went at once, so that this man who was half asleep suddenly saw the muzzle of a roer within three paces of his head and heard a voice command him to stand still and silent or die. Thus he stood indeed until he perceived that the new wife of his chief was escaping.
Not contented with having killed the dog, it knelt down upon the carcass, crushing it under its knees, as if determined to leave not a bone unbroken! The animal seemed angry with itself for its inability to mangle its victim with hoof and horns, at the same time. While this scene was transpiring, Groot Willem was given time to reload his roer.
Then remembering what would be his fate at the hands of Bull-Head he determined to take his chance of being shot, and, turning suddenly, sped towards the kraal shouting as he ran, whereon Zinti fired at him, but the ball went wide. A cannon could scarcely have made more noise than did the great roer in the silence of the night as the report of it echoed to and fro among the hills.
He was a stout active impulsive young fellow, with the look of a capable Nimrod. "You'd have been better with a fowling-piece, or even a Dutch roer," said Rivers, casting a doubtful look at the blunderbuss as they entered the jungle and began to ascend one of the nearest subsidiary glens or kloofs. "Well now, sir," said Jerry respectfully, "I don't agree with you.
When the three youths were within a hundred yards of it, uttering a trumpet-like sound, it turned and charged toward them. Expecting something of the kind, they were not unprepared. Groot Willem instantly brought the roer to his shoulder and fired. The loud report of the gun was accompanied by the sharp cracks of the two rifles carried by his companions.
He stared at her and remarked simply: "I wish it did. This morning I wished to kill a lion with my new roer," and he pointed to the heavy gun at his side, "above everything else, but to-night I wish that your life belonged to me above anything else." Their eyes met, and child though she was, Rachel saw something in those of Richard that caused her to turn her head.
"That is rather a selfish remark of yours, Willem," said Hendrik. "The horse belongs to some one. I can see a saddle-mark on its back." "May be," muttered Willem, who thought nearly as much of his steed as his great roer. "For all that I'm glad it isn't mine." They then proceeded to the vley, where the other horse was still struggling in the shallow water.
"He must have lived on something besides forbidden apples," remarked Rachel, "unless perhaps he was a vegetarian as father wants to be. There he has fired!" As she spoke a cloud of smoke arose above the man, and presently the loud report of a roer reached their ears.
They had become well-acquainted with the report of the long roer, and knew the dangerous character of that weapon; they had learnt that of all their enemies man was the one to be especially dreaded and shunned; and they had grown so shy of his presence, that the hunters frequently passed whole weeks without setting their eyes upon a single elephant.
But just at that moment boomed the loud detonation of the roer; and, then, like lesser echoes, the reports of the smaller guns on the right and left, while Swartboy shouted at the top pitch of his voice, from another quarter. A look back showed the quaggas that they were well-nigh surrounded by strange enemies.
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