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Two seconds more and Groot Willem and Hendrik came riding up; and, in less than half a minute after, the monster, having received a shot from the heavy roer, slowly settled down in its tracks a dead rhinoceros. Willem and Hendrik leaped from their horses and shook hands with Arend in a manner as cordial as if they were just meeting him after an absence of many years.
"No, Baas Willem," answered the Kaffir. "It is Congo." Through the opening, Willem reached down the butt-end of his long roer, while firmly clasping it by the barrel. The Kaffir took hold with both hands, and, by the strong arms of Groot Willem, was instantly extricated from his subterranean prison.
This is the gun in which the boor puts all his trust; and although an American backwoodsman would at first sight be disposed to laugh at such a weapon, a little knowledge of the boor's country would change his opinion of the "roer." His own weapon the small-bore rifle, with a bullet less than a pea would be almost useless among the large game that inhabits the country of the boor.
They are less brave in those districts where they have been "jaged" by the courageous and stalwart boer with his long loud-cracking "roer." Whether the one, before the eyes of our party, was naturally a brave one, could not yet be told. He was one with a huge black mane, or "schwart-fore life," as the boers term it; and these are esteemed the fiercest and most dangerous.
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.
Now at this Ralph cursed the name of Swart Piet aloud, and Jan answered, "It is a bullet from my roer that he shall kiss if he tries it, that I swear." "I hope it may be so," said Sihamba; "yet, Father of Swallow, I pray you send me not away from her who bought me at a great price, and to whom my life belongs.
Then as the captain of this attack came within thirty yards of the stoep for now the light, growing swiftly, was strong enough to enable me to distinguish him by his apparel and the rifle which he held I loosed at him with the "roer" and shot him dead. Indeed the heavy bullet passing through his body mortally wounded another of the Quabies behind.
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.
He was determined to destroy the beast before leaving the ground; and he now set to thinking how this could be accomplished in the speediest and most effectual manner. At first he thought of cutting a hole in the door with his knife, large enough to see through and admit the barrel of his roer.
He and Hendrik, guns in hand, ran up near the bottom of the wall. The chimney was but a score of feet in height; the long roer was pointed upward, reaching nearly half that distance. The yager was also aimed. Both cracked together. The lion's eyes suddenly closed, his head shook convulsively, his paw dropped loose over the capstone, his jaws fell open, and blood trickled down his tongue.
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