CHAPTER XXIII.. The Rescuing-Party--a Startling Discovery--Caught in a

THE RESCUING-PARTY--A STARTLING DISCOVERY--CAUGHT IN A CLOUD-BURST.

Jack and Harry agreed with me, and then the former remarked that we had better be on our way.

We carried a supply of food and water, and, as on the previous occasion, I had the forethought to take my brandy-flask. We took our bearing by compass toward the southwest, and for some distance were able to follow the spoor of the horses. The ground was dry and hard, and in many places the spoor was so indistinct that we frequently lost it; but by keeping the same direction we were generally able to pick it up again, and we did so without losing much time on the way.

Seven or eight miles from camp we came upon traces of a shower of rain the previous day; and as there were no signs of any spoor of horses upon it, we concluded that the shower must have fallen after our friends passed along. The country was open and undulating; there were clumps of bushes here and there, occasional patches of trees, and occasionally a solitary old tree standing alone, like a sentinel. Over a considerable part of the country there were numerous ant-hills: not the ordinary ant-hill of England or the United States, but a conical mound six or eight feet in height, erected by the labor of its tiny inhabitants, and so firmly built as to resist the effects of the weather.

We saw a few koodoo, elands, and other animals of the antelope order, but we had no time to go in pursuit of them. We held on in the general direction in which we had started, keeping a sharp eye out everywhere for anything which might guide us toward the objects of our search. The undulations of the plain increased; and after a time, as we crossed a ridge, we saw before us a valley of great width, and stretching out to right and left as far as the eye could reach. The valley was at least a mile wide, and to our surprise we saw what appeared to be a river or lake in the middle of it.

We drew rein on the crest of the ridge, to hold a consultation and determine what next to do.

"They can't very well have gone beyond this body of water," said Jack, "unless they made a wide detour, one way or the other, to flank it."

"No, I can't see how that is possible," I answered; "and, furthermore, it would be a very rash proceeding for them, as it would carry them much farther from their camp than it would be judicious for them to go. What do you think about it, Harry!"

"I really don't know what to think," was the reply; "I'm puzzled; but we sha'n't do any good by standing here. Let's ride on into the valley, and down to the edge of the water. Perhaps we may find something there that will give us information, or, at any rate, will hint to us what we want."

We acted upon Harry's suggestion, and rode on into the valley. Everywhere around us were the indications of a heavy rain--one of those tremendous downpours peculiar to the tropics all the world over. South Africa has its share, some parts being more favored than others; in fact, the rainfall is very unevenly distributed in that country, some portions getting much more than they want and others much less. With an even distribution of rain, South Africa would be a far more fertile country than it is.

A short distance before we reached the lake we caught sight of two buffaloes that were having a good time wallowing in a large puddle of mud and water. That is one of the buffalo's amusements: nothing delights him more than a wallow in the mud; and the more he can cause the stuff to adhere to his skin the better he seems to be satisfied.

When we reached the water's edge we noted the indications of the banks, and saw that the lake was of very recent formation. There did not seem to be any current to it, the water was very muddy, and there was not the slightest sign of any ripple in the sand on the shore, nor was there any streak of debris piled up there.

"I have it, boys," I said: "there has been a heavy rain, and perhaps a cloud-burst, just beyond here. Twenty-four hours ago this was as barren and dry as the plain that we have just crossed; the water has come in here with a rush and filled this up. Now the chances are that our friends had gone on beyond here before the rain and cloud-burst, and can't get back."

"Yes, that may be," said Harry; "but they could send the fore-looper to outflank the water somewhere and get away to camp."

We were intently regarding the water where it came in contact with the earth, and did not look up for some minutes. At length we raised our eyes and glanced over the water, which was perhaps half a mile across. Over toward the other shore we saw a little island, rounded on the top, and fairly well covered with trees. Our gaze naturally rested on this island, and as it did so we saw the flutter of something white upon it, exactly as we had seen the fluttering in the tree when the lions stood at its base.

Jack was the first to catch sight of the waving object; as he did so he flung his arms in the air, and said:

"There they are! There they are!"

We watched, and saw a repetition of the signal, and then we answered it with the best handkerchief that could be mustered in the party. We waved our hands and made all the demonstrations we could; and now the question arose how we could help them out of their trouble.

They led their horses out in front of the trees in such a way that we could see they were all there, and at the same time each of the three individuals was in full view. This assured us that no calamity had happened to them other than imprisonment in a storm.

"It is a pretty long job," said Jack, "to wade or swim this water with our horses; and besides there is the chance of crocodiles."

"I don't think there are any crocodiles here," I replied, "in this lake, which was probably formed since yesterday noon; but of course there's a possibility that some may have been brought down from a permanent lake or stream where they've been living. I confess that I don't exactly like the idea of undertaking to go through this water on horseback, or without a horse. If there should be a crocodile here, and he should take a notion to breakfast on one of us, it would be good-by to any more hunting in this life."

Jack looked suddenly around in the direction where we had seen the buffaloes wallowing in the mud. "Come on," he said; "I've got it. We'll shoot those buffaloes; I'll make a boat of their skins, and we'll paddle out to them!"

The idea seemed a good one, so Jack and I gave our horses to Harry to hold, while we stalked up close to the buffaloes and finished both of them. Then we out with our knives and skinned the beasts; or rather I did most of the skinning, while Jack went into a bunch of trees close by and cut some poles similar to those he had used in making his boat at our camp. It is unnecessary to describe how he did it, as the description would be practically a repetition of what the reader already knows. Within less than an hour we had made a small boat from the skins of those two buffaloes and the framework which Jack had set up. We made paddles by taking forked sticks and binding leaves across the intersection of their branches, so that they made a fair imitation of the blade of a paddle. The boat was not as large nor as handsome as the one Jack had previously made, but it answered its purpose admirably, and what more could be asked?

Jack took the provisions we had brought along, and the flask of brandy; there was no need of taking water, as there was more than a sufficient amount all around us. I promptly, and Harry reluctantly, conceded that Jack should be the Christopher Columbus of this expedition, and as soon as he had collected his cargo he started. Then the handkerchiefs on the island waved more rapidly than ever, and I could see that he would receive a warm welcome. Harry was rather sulky over the state of affairs; but he said nothing, for the reason, probably, that the situation was such that he had nothing to complain about.

Jack reached the island in safety, and from all we could observe he was received like a messenger of salvation. His first act was to hand over the provisions to the famishing party, not forgetting the flask of brandy which I had sent along. During the repast, which was not especially hurried, Jack learned from the lips of the ladies the story of their misadventure.

"This lake which you now see," said Mrs. Roberts, "was not here yesterday when we came. There's a depth of thirty or forty feet all around us; it shoals somewhat over toward the side where you came, but there is depth enough all around for anybody to swim. We came down into the valley yesterday, thinking we would cross over to the opposite side and then turn back again, just about making the length of our day's excursion. This island that we are now on is a hill in the midst of the valley--or was so yesterday.

"When we got to the other side of the valley, and were turning back, the rain came on. We had noticed a thunder-cloud off in the west, but didn't think it would amount to much. Five minutes before the rain came on us the sky was clear overhead, or at least partially so. The first outburst was tremendous, and drenched us completely. I suggested that we should take shelter among the trees on this hill, and so we rode our horses up here and got the best shelter we could.

"The rain kept on coming, fiercer and fiercer, for an hour or more; then it slackened somewhat, but only for a little while. All around us we could see patches of water covering the ground, but nothing at all like what there is here now.

"By and by the rain ceased entirely, the clouds seemed to blow away, and the sun struggled to make its appearance; but away among the hills to the west we could see that the clouds were very dense and hanging close to the ground. We had observed that condition of affairs some time before the rain came upon us, and remarked that they were having quite a storm over there, fifteen or twenty miles away.

"We were just getting ready to start back for our camp when we heard a rushing, roaring sound, somewhere up the valley. It was more like the sound of a railway-train than anything else I can describe, and certainly a very unusual sound in a country where there are no railways at all.

"We stood and looked in that direction, wondering what was coming; and before long we found out!

"A wall of water, ten or fifteen feet high, came pouring down and filling the whole valley. On and on it came, rushing like a torrent, and filling up all the space around us. Our hill became an island, with a depth of water around it enough to float a small steamboat!"

"Were there any wild animals caught in the flood and brought down by it?" queried Jack.

"Yes," said Mrs. Roberts, "there were a goodly number. There were several buffaloes, two or three elephants, and there were antelopes, elands, leopards, and I don't know what else. Come around here and I'll show you what came to us. The most of the animals were driven past us by the flood, and some made the shore and escaped; some, I am sure, were drowned, and a few took to our island for safety."

By this time they were at the other side of the island, and a sight was revealed which made Jack's eyes bulge out with astonishment. A leopard, a lion, and a boa-constrictor had taken refuge upon the little island where the ladies were! Miss Boland said that neither the leopard nor the lion manifested any hostility toward them, being so overcome with fear. "They were terribly frightened," said she, "and very much exhausted by their efforts at swimming. They came on the island almost together, and lay down where you see them without appearing to recognize each other's existence."