Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-03-09
CHAPTER X.
JOHN HAS IN ESCAPE.

Scotch cart, TO which were harnesScd two of |
the best horses at Mooifontcin, 10 shoot buck |
at Hans Coetzecs.
He reached the Place at about $50 o'clock, |
and concluded, from the fact of the presence |
of several carts and horses, that he WIS not
the only guest Indeed, the first person that |
he saw as the cart pulled up was his late enc
my, Frank Muller.
"Hels loo,), baas," said Jamie, "there is
Baas Frank talking to Basutu"
John was, as may be imagined, not best
pleased at this meeting. He had always dis
liked the man. and since Muller's conduct on
the previous Friday, and Jantje's story Of the
dark deed of blood in which he had been the
principal actor, he positively loathed the sight
of him. He got out of the cart, and was 60
ing to walk round to the back of the house in
order to avoid him, when Muller, to all ap-
pearance, suddenly became aware Of his pres
ence and advanced to meet him with the ut
most cordially.
"How do you do, captainl' he said, holding
out his hand, which John just touched. $50
you have come to shoot buck with ON Coet-
zee; going to show us Transvaalers how to do
it, eh? There, captain, don't look rs stiff as
rifle barrel know what you are thinking
Of; that little business at Wakkerstroom on
Friday, is it notl Well, now, tell you what
it is, was in the wrong, and oin't afraid to
say so as between man and man. I had had
glass, that was the fact, and did not quite
know what was about. We have got to live
as neighbors here, SO let us forget all about it
and be brothers again. never bear malice,
not !. It is not the Lords will that we should
lear malice Hit out from the shoulder, l
say, and then forget oil about it. If it hadn't
been for that little monkey" he added, jerk
ing his thumb in the direction of Jantje, who
was holding tie horses heads, sit would never
have happened, and it is not nice that two
Christians should quarrel about such as he"
Muller jerked out his long speech in a sue
cession Of sentences, something as a school
boy repeats a hardly learned lesson, fidgeting
his feet and letting his eyes travel about the
ground az he did SO; and it was evident to
John, who stood quite still and listened to it
in icy silence, that it was by no means an ex-
temporary one. 1t had too clearly been COM
posed for the occasion.
81 do not wish to quarrel with anybody,
Meinhcer Muller" he answered at length.
never do quarrel unless it is forced OIL me,
and them" he added. grimly, II do my best
to make it unpleasant for my enemy. The
other day you attacked first my servant and
enSA AhySCAs SAiA EAoA 0nde JOo INV DC
that this was an improper thing to do, and,
SO FAR as am concerned, there is an end Of
the matter" and he turned to enter the
house.
Muller accompanied him as far as where
Jamie was standing at the horses heads. Here
be stopped, and. putting his hand in his
pocket, took out two shilling piece and threw
it to the Hottentot, calling to him to catch it.
Jantia h01di,1or fba xusfh
hand. In the other he held hid = la long
walking kerrie that he always carried, tho
same ON which he had shown Bessie tho
notches In order toeatch the piece AZ money
be dropped the stick, aud Muller's quick eye
catching sight d D-aotches beneath the
xa,oD, ne stopped u1Hn, plc4cd 1t up, and
examined it.
"What do these mean, boyF he asked,
pointing to the line Of big and little notches,
soma Of which bad evidently been cut years
ago.
Jantjs toulaSd his hat, spat upon the
sScotchman, . - natives Of that part Of
Africa call . tw0sldlling piece, and pocketed
Il before he answered. The fact that the
giver had murdered oil his near relations did
not make the gift less desirable in his eyes.
Hottentot moral sense is not very elevated
mo, baas, no said, with q curious grin,
shat Is how reckon. II anybody beats
Jantje. Jamie cuts a notch upon the stick,
and every night before hc goes to sleep he
looks 1t 1t, and says: One day you will
strike that man twice who struck You once,
and so on, bans Look what line Of them
there are, haas. One day will pay them all
buck again. Baas Frank"
In smother minute old Hans Coetzee came,
and announced that it was time to DO moving.
Accordingly the whole party got into their
caEtB o. On to their shooting horses, a the
case might be, and started. Frank Muller
was, John noticed. mounted as usual on his
fine black horse. After driving for more
than half an hour along an indefinite kind of
wagon track, tho leading cart, in which was
old Hans Coetzee himself, a Malay driver
and colored Cape boy, turned to the left
acru0 tho open veldt, and the others followed
in turn. This went on for some Time till at
Last they reached the crest Of rise that CON-
mAnded largo sweep Of open country, and
hero Hans halted and held up his hand,
whareon TIE others halted, too. On looking
ont over the vast plain before him, John dis
covered the reason About half q mile be-
meath them was great herd Of blesbuck,
feeding, BOD or moro Of them, and beyond
them again another herd Of some sixty or
oSsc4Agy 4u0Su 0kkcx 0UQ WuueT looking 0nl-
mails, with white tGils which John at once
again, dotted about hereeand there ON the
plain. were couple of dozen or 70 Of grace
ful yellow springbuck.
Then council Of war was held, which re-
suited IN the men on horseback-among
whom was Frank Muller-being dispatched
to circumvent the herds and drive them
ars1f he
at various points toward which the buck were
likely to make.
Then came apause Of quarter Of an hour
or 50, til, suddenly, from the far ridge Of the
opposite slope, John saw = couple Of pufls of
white smoke float up into the air, and ono of
the vilderbeestc below roll over on his back,
kicking and plunging furiously. Thereon the
whole herd OF buck turned and camc thunder
ing toward them, stretched in q long line
across tho wide veldt; the springbuck first,
then the blesbuck, looking, owing to their
peculiar way Of holding their long heads
down a. they galloped, for all the world like
n herd Of great bearded goats. Behind and
mixed uD with them were the vilderbeeste,
wio twisted ana turEed, ana jumped into the
air as though they had gone clean of their
beads and were next second going clean on
them. It is very difficult, owing to his ex-
traordinary method Of progression, to dis
t;nguish one part Of galloping vilderbeeste
from another; now it Is his horns, now his
tail, and now his hoofs that present them
selves to the watchers bewildered vision, and
now again they all seem to be mixed up to
gether. On came tho great herd, making the
ground shake beneath their football; and
after them galloped tie mounted Beers, every
row and again jumping from their horses to
fire shot into tho linz q game, which gem
orally resulted In some poor animal being left
sprawling on the ground, wherein the sports-
men would remount and continue tho chass,
fresenrly the DUCK were within range Of
some Of the guns in the carts and q regular
fusillade began About twenty blesbuck
turned and came past John, within forty
yards Of him. Springing to the ground, he
fired both barrels Of his express at them a
they tore past-alas and alasl without touch
ing them. The first bullet struck under their
bellies, the second must have shaved their
backs Reloading rapidly, he fired again At
about 900 yards range, and this time one
fell to his second barrel. But he knew that
It was . chance shot; he had fired at the last
buck, and he had killed one ten PAGES in front