CHAPTER XIX.. Two Narrow Escapes From Crocodiles--Stalking Elands

TWO NARROW ESCAPES FROM CROCODILES--STALKING ELANDS WITH LIONS IN COMPANY--GOOD RECORD FOR AN AFTERNOON.

Harry and I admitted that Jack's effort at boat-building was highly successful, and we could see no reason why it would not serve a good purpose in hunting hippopotami.

"I got the idea of this craft," said Jack, "up among the natives of the Arctic circle. They make boats of walrus-hide, and sometimes of reindeer-skin, in just this way: they build a framework and fasten the skins around it. You have to be very particular in moving around in one of their boats, and always step on one of the timbers; never let your feet rest entirely on the hide that forms the cover, or you may make a hole through it. There's no danger of any mishap of that kind with this tough old buffalo-skin, except at the places where it is sewn together; but it will be well to observe the same rule with this craft as with those I have mentioned."

In the afternoon we got our Kafirs together--a dozen of them--and transported the boat to the river. We had previously made some paddles out of pieces of board, and the boat was also provided with two long poles for propelling it in shallow places. It floated like a duck on the water, and we all felt proud of Jack's achievement. We took along several hippopotamus-spears, together with our rifles, and it was decided that two of us in the boat, with two natives to paddle it, would be as large a crew as she could easily sustain. The plan was to launch the boat some distance up the river, while I took my station on the bank, sitting down on a pile of reeds, and waiting for a shot at the first hippo that came along. The rest of the party moved slowly up along the river-bank, the Kafirs carrying the boat, and Jack and Harry preceding them to indicate the spot where they would launch out upon the waters.

It was very quiet sitting there all by myself, and after a little while I felt the soothing effect of the stillness, and, leaning my head forward, fell asleep. I was sitting just at the edge of the river; my feet were not three inches from the water, and my cushion of reeds was a low one. I heard nothing, saw nothing, and felt nothing until I was roused by the report of a rifle, seemingly close at hand.

Of course I was awake in an instant, and when I waked the water in front of me was whirling and churning violently, and there was a whirling and churning around my head, mingled with shouts from my friends, whose voices I recognized. They came paddling rapidly toward me with the boat, and I could see that both of them were in a state of great excitement.

"You've had a narrow escape from a horrible death!" said Jack, as the boat touched the bank and he sprang ashore.

"Why, what's the matter?" said I.

"A minute more," said Jack--"yes, half a minute--and you would have been in the jaws of a crocodile!"

I felt my hair standing on end at this announcement, which I could not fully comprehend; and I replied to it with the question, "What do you mean?"

"I mean just this," said Jack: "when we came in sight of you we saw from your position that you had probably fallen asleep. As we came nearer we saw that the river in front of you was full of crocodiles; there must have been a dozen of them close to you, and a dozen more only a little distance away. They probably stopped at first to look at you out of curiosity, and then made up their minds that you would be good to eat. We saw two or three of them creeping up in your direction, and the foremost of the lot had his nose within less than a yard of your feet. We could see that he was preparing to seize you. Others were moving along in his direction, and the probabilities are that when one of them had grabbed you and pulled you into the water the others would have taken a share in the work. We fired at one of them, but not the one nearest you, for fear that in his sudden whirling about he would sweep you into the water. Immediately after firing we shouted, and the shouts and the report of the rifle drove the crocodiles away."

I then realized the dangerous position in which I had been, and made a vow never to run the same risk again. I kept that vow faithfully for a week, when I was one day out duck-shooting, and had ornamented my belt with five or six ducks. I wanted to cross the river where the water was not very deep, and thought I could do so with safety. I started in, the ducks hanging at my side, and I holding my gun between my chin and chest so as to keep it from getting wet. The water was very nearly at my neck, and I was getting slowly along, when suddenly I saw a crocodile--an immense fellow--coming in my direction like a steamboat, not twenty yards away, his ugly snout protruding from the water.

I dropped my gun instantly, and struck out with both hands for the shore. Partly swimming and partly wading, I reached it, and got on dry land with the monster's nose about six feet behind me! That was about as close a call as the other one.

I was quite alone, and there was no way in which I could recover my gun without an almost certain risk of becoming the prey of the crocodiles. The next day all hands of us went there, and by keeping up a great noise we drove the saurians out of the way, and got a chance to drag for the gun. We worked there two or three hours, and finally recovered it. The reader may ask why we did not dive for it; but I beg him to remember that the proximity of crocodiles or alligators is not encouraging to divers, although in waters no more than five or six feet in depth.

We did not get any hippos that afternoon by means of our boat, but we killed two that were feeding on shore by cutting them off from their line of retreat to the river. They were of a very fair size, and it did not take long for our people to skin them, cut them up, and transport the meat to camp.

While we were on our way home Harry and I made a detour to the westward, partly to use up the time and partly in the hope of finding something worthy of our attention.

In a little nook at the edge of the forest we caught sight of three or four elands. It was rather unusual to see them as near as this to the forest, and we flattered ourselves that we would be able to bring down at least two of them; so we told our trackers and gun-bearers to drop back behind us, while we crept forward to stalk the elands, which we could do with ease, on account of their nearness to the wooded country. The only drawback to the business was that there was a patch of wait-a-bit thorns exactly between them and the forest. However, we were not going to let this impediment daunt us, and felt sure we would find some way of circumventing it.

We worked our way along pretty well among the creepers and other growths that covered the ground, and had got within about sixty yards of the nearest of the elands when we were startled by a very emphatic growl that seemed to come from almost under our feet. I do not know whether I turned pale or not; Harry says I did, and I know he did. It was enough to make any one turn pale; for there, within twenty yards of us, were two lions that were engaged in a rival occupation to ours. They were stalking those very elands, and they did not relish the idea of interference. One of the lions was standing up and looking in our direction; the other was crouching with his nose pointed toward the elands.

I sidled over to Harry, meantime putting my gun at full cock and standing ready in case of a charge, and Harry doing the same thing.

"What shall we do?" whispered Harry. "Shall we back out or shoot the lions?"

"Do neither," said I; "stand where we are, backing just a little, enough to signify that we give up the chase; then I don't think the lions will molest us."

"Do you believe they'll tackle the elands, then?"

"Yes," I answered, "they probably will; and if we work it right, and the lions do what we want them to do, we'll bag the elands and the lions at the same time. See, that fellow's taking his gaze off us now, and they'll make a spring very soon."

We stood and watched and waited, but we did not have to wait long. The lions chose two of the elands--at least they acted as if they had done so, as they made a bound simultaneously; and in less time than it takes me to tell it they were on the backs of two of those animals. Both the elands fell, struck senseless by the blows of the lions' paws and by the grip of the powerful teeth just forward of the shoulder. The other elands ran away.

"Now's our chance," I said to Harry; "you get a bead on the one to the right, and I'll take the fellow on the left. They'll be so intent on their eating that they won't be likely to leave it to make a charge upon us. All the same, we'll keep under cover as much as we can."

We moved about till we got up in pretty close range. I said to Harry that we wanted to fire together as well as we could, but of course I realized that we might not get a good aim at the same time.

I was just raising my rifle to the shoulder in readiness to fire when I heard a crashing in the bush almost behind me. It sounded like a large animal, and was coming almost in my direction. I had not time to look around before a third lion bounded past me, not four feet away, and sprang upon one of the lions' as he was beginning his repast on the eland he had brought down!

It seemed to me that the air was getting rather thick with lions, and it would be well for us to dispose of what we had before any more arrived. The new-comer joined the lion which I had selected for my game, and therefore I had a double task before me. I waved my hands to Harry, trying to indicate that under the circumstances I had better fire first. He understood me, and withheld his shot until I had disposed of one of my beasts.

The animal gave me a good chance to do so, as he fell to quarreling with the possessor of the prize. I killed one of the lions at the first shot; the second one I wounded badly, and it took no fewer than three shots to finish him. By good luck I had my Winchester along, and poured the lead in with great rapidity. Harry was also carrying his Winchester, which he fired three times before silencing and quieting his Hon. There was no need of wasting any ammunition on the elands, as they were already dead from the work of the lions. When this was completed we came out into the open and surveyed our game.

"Pretty good business," said Harry, "just for an afternoon walk."

I agreed with him that it was pretty good business, and now the question arose with Harry as to what we should do about it.

"Oh, that's very simple," I answered: "send one of the trackers to the wagon, and get all the men we can to skin the lions and cut up and carry home the elands. We'll have rather an abundance of meat in camp now, but there won't be any of it wasted. What with dogs, Kafirs, and ourselves, we can get away with a goodly amount."

"But won't Jack be jealous of us," remarked Harry, "when he finds what we've done in our little detour while going home from the river!"

"Oh, I don't think he will be jealous exactly," I answered; "he will be sorry he wasn't along, and I'm sorry he wasn't. I don't know that we could have got any more game if he'd been with us, but he might have had the satisfaction, at any rate, of shooting one of the lions."

We waited on the spot until the men came to take charge of our prizes; then we proceeded to camp, where we found Jack, who had already heard the story of our success. He congratulated us heartily, and, as I knew he would, wished he had been along.

"You've reversed the old adage," said he, "about the odd things you see when you haven't got a gun. You certainly saw a lot of very odd things, and had your guns along at the same time."