The Works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 07

ry to welcome him. The greeting was an affectionate one on bot

y the hand, and looked him up and down, "you have grown sin

miling; "and my weight is eleven stone

mborough. As for Tom, he's dying to have a look at his cousin, of whom he has heard so much. By the way, my boy, I have to congratulate you on saving that girl from drowning at Tewkesbury in July last. Mr. Brimley-Fair told me about it in a letter shortly after, and se

ey's words. "I only did what any other fellow would have done. I was nearest to the

you won, and were scarcely in fit condition to rescue people from drowning. Well, now, we'll get your luggage off the ship, drive up to the International Hotel, have some lunch, and

t Great Constantia, the Government wine farm, a fine old Cape mansion, once the abode of the Cloete family. At Rondebosch they paid a visit to Groot Schuur, and Guy was shown the various trophies and curiosities of Mr. Rhodes's well-known mansion. Anot

d mountain country through which they climbed before reaching the plateau of the Great Karroo. He watched the barren and seemingly illimitable vastness of the flat, red Karroo plains; saw wild springbucks and tame ostriches; and feasted his eyes on the huge chain of mountain, the magnificent Zwartberg, which for scores of leagues reared its mighty rampar

much farther off than newcomers can believe; and the consequence is that, until they get used to our conditions of light and atmosphere, sportsmen fresh to the co

as you know, I've used a shot-gun ever since I was twelve years old. I began with small birds and rabbits; two years ago I shot pa

th my saddlery and the rest of my outfit. Here's my shot-gun," he continued, taking down a gun-case from the rack above, undoing it, and extracting from it

un, which Guy had meanwhile put together, examined it carefully, handled it, balanced it, and standing up

athered game: partridges, pheasants (both of them a kind of francolin), koorhaan--that is, bustards--of various kinds, and numbers of wild guinea-fowl. Th

lendid news. I'm especially fond of bird-shooti

extracted, after no little trouble, from under the seat. He took out his keys

tested it, tells me is the best weapon he knows for all kinds of buck up to a hartebeest or koodoo, or even an eland. I sent down to George Rawbone of Cape Town to get it out from England for me. Tom and I each have a Lee-Metford .303 sporting rifle. This, I believe, i

ith pleasure as his unc

m. "If I can't shoot with that, I deserve to be shot myself. I've heard one of our fellows talk of the Mannlicher. His father shoots red deer with it in S

and has a nasty kick. Some day, when you go into the hunting veldt, you will find it a very good second rifle in reserve; and it's always well to have a spare arm in case anything goes wrong with your

urteen Streams, and entered the rolling grass-veldt country of British Bechuanaland. Vryburg, the little capital of this colony, was presently le

im not a little. He saw, too, for the first time, some Transvaal Boers, who were in the town selling stock and buying various things that they required. Guy watched these men with a curious and a critical eye. So these were the people with whom England for a hundred years had had so much trouble and so many difficulties. As he wat

ick guttural language w

uietly, after the latter had been discussing c

e can hardly get on in this country without it. All the natives who work for Europeans speak it; and what with transport-riders and Dutc

with his usual keenness, "I'

Kist, the word for chest, for example, is identical with the Scottish word. Lang stands for long in both countries. Kloof, a ravine, is the same as the Lowland cleugh. Pat means path or road, and so on. Their word spoor, which means tracks

e two and a half hours, they outspanned for breakfast. Peetsi, Mr. Blakeney's Bechuana groom, quickly collected some thorn wood and made a fire; they cooked a kettle of coffee, fried some tinned sausages in a tiny saucepan, got out bread, butter, and a tin of marmalade, and made an excellent meal. Never, thought Guy, had he enjoyed a breakfast so much. Meanwhile the horses, on being unharnessed, had indulged in the invariable roll which all Cap

as possible. You'll do, I can see. Once a man learns how to knee-halter a nag, he never forg

--"oat-hay" some people call it--and then grazed for half an hour in the long grass veldt. The sun was becoming

s here and there greeted the eye. Amid these trees fluttered occasionally queer, bizarre-looking hornbills, and brilliant rollers, miscalled "blue-jays" by the colonists, blazing in lovely plumage of many hues--blues, lilacs, purples, and greens. For an hour they drove through this pleasant country, and then

annlicher, which now stood against the seat behind him. "Follow the line of b

y; "I see a big b

ed his uncle; "our biggest busta

of the cart, Mr. Blakeney filled the magazine clip and pushed

You know the mechanism. If you miss with the first, have a blaze with your second cartrid

e, judging the distance to a nicety, esteemed itself quite secure. But, meanwhile, the eager lad with the Mannlicher was creeping up, the wind was right, and it seemed that he might attain his vantage-ground without the

ig bird staggered to the shot, half lifted its wings, ran fifteen paces, and the

ed in stentorian tones. "You'v

to the air, leaped out of the bush, and ran like a deer up to the dead bustard. He picked it up--it seemed enormously heavy--and held it up i

ou don't want much coaching in the art of rifl

ent on; "fat, and in high condition. Can't weigh less than thirty pounds. Handsome bird, isn't he?

e the distance,

e the bird had been hit. Just one hundred an

it. Well, we shall dine excellently. Your aunt and cousins will be as pleased as

of the road. In approaching the place where the bird lay concealed, he executed a circling movement. Smaller and smaller became the circle, and then, suddenly, without a cry of warning, a biggish bird flushed from the long grass and flew off. In an instant the sportsman's gun was at his shoulder. Then came the crisp report of a Schultz cartridge, and the bird instantly fell to the shot. Mr. Blakeney walked forward to p

ed joyfully. "I'm glad I saw it. I shall know what to do

ge--the bright rufous back, marked with black; the bluish tinge on the neck; and the tints, rufous, ash-colour, white and black,

to the cart. They drove on now, with a couple more outspans to rest the horses, until at length, tur

called in South Africa, running all round it. In a mile they had crossed the dry river-bed, ascended the slope, and driven up to the place. It was just upon two o'clock.

" she said. "What a giant you have grown! I s

oking girls of fifteen and thirteen, Ella and Marjory; and Arthur, the youngest of the group, a sharp-looking boy of eleven. The greetings over, Mrs. B

beds for those not infrequent occasions when visitors or wayfarers turned up. A governess, who resided with the family, looked after the education of the girls and Arthur. Tom, who had just finished his schooling at Grahamstown, in Cape Colony, was now home for good. His father, who farmed twelve thousand morgen of land, or rather more than twenty-four thousand acres, needed assistance, and w

at kraals; and the ostrich camp, a vast enclosure, where stalked a number of these great birds. He was shown the deep-bore well and windmill pump, which supplied the station with water; the big dam, which looked like a lake, with its fringe of willow and blue gums; and many other things pertaining to the headquarters of a large South Afri